Finding The Elusive Air Plant

My first airplant. Hung under a yellow jasmine and chayote in my backyard. Will bring you updates at it grows!

This weekend I plan on going plant hunting for the very elusive, air plant. The air plant is unlike other plants which usually have deep root systems to absorb water and nutrients, the air plant however has no roots at all. In fact, they use their primordial roots for clinging to rocks, trees and other surfaces but actually absorb all of their water and nutrients through their leaves. Luckily for me, the air plant is a native of Southern California so finding it shouldn't be too difficult. According to Wikipedia there are over 730 different species of the plant. 

So for this little endevour I plan on going to Abalone Cove near Palos Verdes, which by the way has the most beautiful sunsets in California, in my humble opinion, in hopes of finding one of the 730 varieties. Once found, I plan to create an air plant terrarium. 

I will go ahead and link a how-to of the air plant terrarium once I have the plants. Since the plants are so versatile and easy to care for it is possible to create tones of different designs with your air plants. Some designs include building a rock wall, hanging them inside wine bottles and even adding them to your already existing fruit trees just to add an extra splash of life to your garden. 

Although the air plants are relatively easy to care for, they are not immortal. You can kill your plants so you will want to read up on how to care for airplants before your murder them all by leaving them in baking sun (guilty). 

The Flower Market in Los Angeles, on 8th and Julian, have a great selection of airplants ranging from $4 - $20. Check it out! They have tons of other plants and flowers, too.