Growing & Displaying Air Plants Outside

You might be wondering if you can display your air plants outside after they arrive on your doorstep, and the answer is yes. We love to display our air plants outside and most air plants thrive with the ample light and good air flow that they receive outside.

This Tillandsia ionantha clump is anchored to a piece of driftwood 

Some good places to display your air plants outside could be a covered outdoor patio, a deck, on an outdoor table, (if not in full sun) or in the crooks of tree branches.

This Tillandsia xerographica and pup are anchored outside to a tree branch 

If you do decide to display and grow your air plants outside there are some key things that you need to take into account:

What is the light like?

Most air plants like bright indirect light, while some can withstand more direct sunlight like the xeric species of air plants. (You can learn more about xeric species of air plants in our article Mesic Vs. Xeric Air Plants.)You’ll want to make sure that your plants are in an area where they will get at least 4 hours of good indirect light, but not too direct, so that their leaves won't get burned by the sun.

A Tillandsia duratii enjoys direct sunlight hanging in our outdoor patio space 

What will their watering schedule be? 

In Florida where we are located, there is a lot of humidity in the air, and ample rain during the rainy season, we still like to water our air plants at least once a week, but sometimes more/less depending on how hot it is outside or how much rain we received. If you notice your plants starting to look dry and wilting, water them! Just be sure not to water them in the hottest part of the day when the light is brightest. Doing so can actually burn your air plants leaves and they won't be able to absorb as much water! We like to water our air plants in the morning when there is still shade outside to ensure that they can soak up as much water as possible before the sun comes out.

Another big thing to take into account is the changing of seasons. While we don’t experience drastic changes in temperature here in Florida like most other states, we still monitor the weather and have had to bring in plants due to excessive hot weather, excessive rain or when temperatures start to get cold. While air plants might thrive outside in summer and early Fall in most states, if you notice that night temperatures are dipping below 50 degrees, it would be a good time to bring your air plants in. Air plants are tropical plants so they don’t like colder temperatures.

You can display your air plants in terrariums, hanging baskets, on tables, in trees, in bowls, and many other places outside. There are so many ways to decorate with air plants outside, and we hope this post has inspired you to try decorating with air plants outside too.