Reddit reviews Bliss Gardens Air Plant Tillandsia Organic Fertilizer Food / 2oz Spray Bottle

Don’t feel bad - I was entirely incapable of keeping them alive (cue the less-caring-than-a-desert jokes from my husband :P) during my first several attempts. Even tho I’m pretty decent with plants in general (I think lol), I’ve only recently been able to maintain heathy/happy/thriving air plants with any consistency. I’ve been proud of keeping them happy more regularly than ever before over this past specifically, but I’m no expert.

Idk if this is blasphemy in this sub or not, but I find most air plants to be fairly fickle little dudes that can get unhappy from barely noticeable things. I had one die because I think a barely perceptible draft was hitting it the wrong way. They die if you give them water, when they seem like they need it really bad, sometimes. I had one rot from what appeared to be overwatering... before I ever even had the chance to water it. I also still have one that, no matter what I do, it never dries after watering in a remotely reasonable amount of time- I literally blow dried it on cool for half an hour last week. Several died early on because it looked like they’d gotten too much direct sunshine- but they were inside a room with shades on the windows. I’ve kept them all outside before but they seemed to struggle and become frail out there. One was randomly blown off my patio by the wind and I never found it again. I mean it’s really been a journey for me, even before this little dude in the photo ever existed!

My biggest pain in the butt adversary seems to be the humidity here. I also like to keep my house kinda cooler, which they really respond to and seem to like at night, but god forbid I forget to turn the ac down before I leave for work during the day. So, my air plants all usually seem either really happy or really confused (kinda like ‘where the hell are we!?’) lol.

I think it’s a lot of trial and error, and finding what works with that specific little air plant in the environment you live in, so your mileage may vary.

BUT, for me, this is what seems to work:

1- Buy them from good places. Only the ones I’ve ordered from growers in CA who specialize in air plants seem to thrive imo- the ones I’ve bought locally from Home Depot or wherever all had a shelf life of a few weeks or so. (The one in the photo is from Amazon but I’ve got other healthy ones for a couple of bucks and free shipping on Etsy.)

2- I keep them in sunny windowsills. Even though the light bulb terrarium and air plant holders nowadays are SUPER cute, air plants (in my experience) only really ever seem to thrive with LOTS of [surprise surprise] unimpeded air access. I only really put them in their cute lil homes/holders when people visit or I’m cleaning up the house.

3- I regularly flip them over every day or so. This way they don’t get flat on one side.

4- I rarely water them and have no luck with misting (they seem to rot easier with misting for me, but, again, its very humid where I live).

5- I bathe them very rarely and very quickly (I don’t leave them fully submerged in water- they can’t breathe like that)- once a month, maybe. I also put them on wire cookie racks out on my patio in the heat to dry them completely afterwards. I think an important part of keeping them happy is drying them fully within a reasonable amount of time and drying them as well as you possibly can.

6- I do use a fertilizer spray derived from sea kelp and made specifically for air plants. But, some people say not to do this because it’s easy to overdo. Again, ymmv.

I only fertilize them in summer when it’s super sunny out. I always only do one spritz, if any, and monthly at the most, usually when I water them.

I will say that fertilizer seems to be the ONLY thing that encourages them to blush and bloom, at least where I live [not a desert or dry zone].

6- If an air plant does have a budding little blossom, I stop watering it entirely and let it do its thing unless it looks like it’s definitely dying. Buds usually die before blooming if I water or mist the plant while they’re developing. And, if it doesn’t kill the bloom, it seems to at least slow down the flower’s growth pretty significantly.

7- If they start looking unhappy, I put them under this inexpensive lamp. They fucking love that thing. And it has championed many a comeback. BUT, it does look kinda weird science-y hooked up in my kitchen with all the air plants sprawled out underneath it.

Other than the above, I’m still figuring it out and learning how to keep them happy too. They seem to need a decent bit of continual maintenance and a hell of a lot of attention to detail. Especially if you’re trying to correct (sometimes inexplicable) issues they’re struggling with! But, ironically, they can also struggle directly because of TOO much attention/water/sunlight/air, lol. So, it’s a weird balance.

But, I really respect a picky plant. And, air plants are super rewarding if only because they’re so weird. One really cool blossom is worth every second of the trial and error. You gotta stay stubborn and experiment a little, but the whole process is kinda cool once they start poppin off and living their best life!!!

Hope this helps a little bit and best of luck! I’m sending good vibes to your air plant babies 🌱💜

EDITED for grammar/clarity and to say: I’ve only ever had really small air plants so larger/more mature ones may be a different ballgame, idk.