Plants
Air plant
Tillandsia ionantha
EasyOpen jar only
Silvery spiky tufts that drink through their leaves. Needs to dry out, so open jars only.
What the simulation uses
- Light
- 10,000 to 30,000 lux
- The brightness it grows well in.
- Humidity
- 40 to 70 % RH
- Air moisture it is happy in; below the lower end it dries out.
- Temperature
- 20 to 25 °C
- Comfortable range; outside it growth slows.
- Dies at
- below 10 or above 30 °C
- Days beyond these temperatures kill it.
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 6.5 pH
- Soil acidity it prefers.
- Grows up
- 0.2 cm/month
- How fast it gains height in good conditions.
- Spreads
- 0.25 cm/month
- How fast its edge creeps outwards.
- Copes with wet
- poor
- How well it stands soggy soil; poor means rot comes quickly.
- Copes with still air
- poor
- Sealed jars have still air; poor means grey mould finds it.
- Copes with shade
- poor
- How well it holds on in dim light.
- Copes with drying
- excellent
- How well it survives the jar drying out.
- Water use
- 0.03 ml/cm²/day
- Water drawn up from its roots per cm² of leaves in room air; a sealed jar cuts this to a fraction and returns it down the glass.
- Leaf drop
- 1 %/month
- Share of its leaves it sheds each month as litter for the cleanup crew.
- Soft leaves
- no
- Soft new growth that hungry isopods will nibble.
- Full size
- 7 cm tall, 7.5 cm wide
- Its size when grown, before the lid stops it.
Care
- Day length
- 12 to 14 h
- Substrate
- Dry
What kills it
- staying wet in a closed container (crown rot)
- hard calcareous water
- low light
Description
Air plants take in water through tiny scales on their leaves, then must dry out completely before the next soak. A closed, humid jar rots them. Keep this one in an open, airy display.
Also called sky plant, Tillandsia.
Estimated, where sources were thin: temp_lethal_c is Wikipedia's genus min/max for optimal growth, not true lethal; light_lux; humidity_rh_pct; ph.