INDOORLIVING The sky’s the limit for air plants

Move over, cacti: Are air plants set to take over as the nation’s favourite house

Familiar with air plants? They are set to become the new houseplant craze – with no soil needed and only the occasional mist. These low-maintenance plants don’t even need soil and are 100% Insta-worthy In fact, air plants take even less looking after than the hugely popular cactus, which is still proving a massive hit with home-owners (and Instagrammers). Wondering how this is possible? Air plants, which come from South and Central America and the Southern States, have no roots to plant in soil. And they can create all sorts of looks - from trailing foliage, which drapes from shelves like thick silver curly hair, to more structured specimens, whose leaves change colour to fiery red and produce bright flowers. “There’s a craze with houseplants at the moment, and the thing about air plants is that they don’t take up much space, there’s no mess or soil- borne fungus or gnats. They are structurally interesting and very low-maintenance,” says air plant specialist Andy Gavin, who won a gold medal at every RHS show he attended in 2018 and is due to exhibit for the first time at Chelsea Flower Show this year. “Air plants are highly collectable. There are around 700 species in the wild, hybrids, and so much variety. You can have one species and 10 different forms of it,” adds Andy, who runs Andy’s Air Plants (andysairplants.co.uk. “You can find air plants in garden centres, a few nurseries and a few online sellers in the UK. There are about 30 species that are easily available, all in the genus Tillandsia,” says Andy. Tillandsias are in the bromeliad (or pineapple) family. The ones you are likely to come across include Tillandsia ionantha (which means purple flower). “Most tillandsias have a very minimal root system, which is just used to adhere to a surface, whether it’s a cliff base or a tree. In the wild, they grow epiphytically (on other plants or surfaces) on cacti or even telegraph wires,” Andy. “The roots don’t take up any moisture or nutrients. That’s all done through the leaves. That’s the critical thing about how air plants grow.”