The air plant originated from South America and the southern United States, and it has a history of nearly a hundred years as an ornamental plant. It became popular in Europe, America, Japan, and other countries in the 1980s and was introduced to China in the early 21st century, gradually gaining popularity. It does not require soil to grow, is easy to manage, clean and aesthetically pleasing, saves space, and has the function of purifying the air, especially fitting the core concept of modern home life and loved by everyone.
The air plant is the only green plant on earth that grows completely in the air without needing soil to thrive and can bloom beautiful flowers. Due to its high ornamental value, relatively clean and easy care, it is an excellent choice for gardening and residential decoration in a busy and fast-paced life. The air plant is also known as air bromeliad, air flower, air grass, and wood handle pineapple. The shape characteristics and distribution of air plants vary greatly in survival conditions, horizontal and vertical dimensions, leading to their diverse shapes and sizes. Even so, different types of air plants have some related characteristics.
Differences between air plants and ordinary plants are:
(1) Growing conditions: No soil or other sediments are needed, growing directly in the air;
(2) Root function: Only a small number of aerial roots that serve only adhesive and fixing purposes, not absorbing water and nutrients;
(3) Leaf function: Surface has gray scales to absorb water and nutrients;
(4) Growing method: An inverted growing plant, with leaves providing water and nutrients to the roots;
(5) Maintenance method: Just need to add the appropriate amount of air regularly.
Air plants are native to South America and are distributed from the eastern United States to China, the United States, and Africa, with most species coming from Africa. The growing environments of air plants are diverse, including deserts, rocks, swamps, tropical rainforests, and even cacti and power poles. Most air plants are very vigorous and can expand their growth range by寄生, while a few species are limited by unique growth conditions. There are fewer types of air plants bred in China, while overseas, many strange and unique varieties have been cultivated. However, the naming and classification of air plant varieties in China are not perfect, sometimes the same Latin name corresponds to different Chinese names, or the same Chinese name refers to different air plant varieties. This type of explanation shows that the variety and classification of air plants in China need to be further improved.
Jiangsu Agricultural and Forestry Vocational Technology College once introduced dozens of air plant varieties, such as brass air flowers, Alajie, Baji hybrid, elf-cone bromeliad, Fugis, Fang's bromeliad, Sanders, Jia's bromeliad, elf-Albino, and elf-Spain, for breeding experiments in the Nanjing area. The experiment showed that the introduced varieties grew steadily over a year with a survival rate of 100%, produced scattered buds, could bloom normally, but fewer varieties could produce seeds. It can also be propagated by fiber insertion, and the seedling rate of seed propagation is also high. This shows that most air plant breeding in the Nanjing area is feasible. The growth habits of air plants are that they originally grew in subtropical and tropical forests or dry mountain slopes at altitudes of 100 meters to 5000 meters, adhering to tree trunks, stones, cliffs, and a few even grew on cacti. Unlike other plants, it relies mainly on the gray villous scales on the leaves to absorb water and does not require soil or water, just watering can survive.
Air plants are drought-resistant, can tolerate strong sunlight, and some prefer humid environments. Most senior air plants appear gray-white because the leaves are covered with villi, which serve to reflect light, prevent burning, and prevent water evaporation. The more exposed to sunlight, the denser the villi. The flowers of air plants symbolize perfection and uniqueness. The main value of air plants is that they can adhere to dead wood, rocks, or placed on shells, coral, and pots, as long as the roots are not in water, they can grow. Many foreign interior design magazines have air plants as houseplants to decorate the home, which is very trendy. Many people plant air plants in large numbers and hang them up with wire or fishing line, creating vivid and unique shapes. The roots of air plants mainly serve to attach the stem to a fixed point, so even without roots, they can survive, and broken or injured branches can also survive independently for a period, and if the environment is suitable, they can grow new plants to continue life.
Common diseases and pests of air plants include sunburn, which often occurs in environments with abundant sunlight due to improper operation, such as water not being dried immediately on the leaves, causing water droplets to act as a magnifying glass to burn the leaves below. It does not spread, but attention should be paid to ventilation in daily maintenance. Heart rot and brown spot diseases are often caused by high temperatures and poor ventilation. In the hot summer, attention should be paid to ventilation to prevent excessive water accumulation. It is also important to avoid high calcium and sodium water. In terms of pests, common ones include mealybugs, snails, and slugs. For small air plants at home, it is recommended to improve ventilation conditions and remove pests manually.
The key points of air plant cultivation include using shells, stones, deadwood, tree fern boards, and藤 baskets as planting containers, which can be secured with thin wire, string,万能 glue, or hot melt adhesive, or planted using a hanging method, tied with copper wire or string and suspended in the air. The temperature for air plants, which are native to the highlands of Central and Africa, can tolerate low temperatures of 5°C and prefer a growth temperature of 15°C-25°C. Above 25 degrees, ventilation and humidity should be increased. Air plants can be watered 2-3 times a week with a spray bottle, and once a day during dry seasons. Watering should wet the leaves without allowing water to accumulate in the leaf heart. If overwatered, the plant can be inverted to drain excess water. Air plants with gray and white scales and thick leaves require strong sunlight, while those with green leaves, few scales, and soft leaves are more shade-tolerant. When grown indoors, they should be placed in a bright location, as insufficient light can cause the plant to become tall and weak. Fertilizing can be done with flower fertilizer or potassium dihydrogen phosphate plus urea solution diluted 1000 times, once a week, or by immersing the plant in a 3000-5000 times fertilizer solution for 1-2 hours. Fertilizing can be stopped during winter and flowering periods.
The above is a comprehensive introduction to air plants, hoping to bring some knowledge about green plants to plant enthusiasts.