Air Plant Varieties

One way air plants reproduce is by producing offsets or pups, small plants that form alongside the mother plant. Tillandsia lorentziana, native to Bolivia and Brazil, quickly reproduces by forming a clump. White leaves are almost velvety to the touch.

Many air plants boast colorful leaves. Tillandsia tricolor has bright green leaves with dark bases. High light coaxes red tints from foliage, as does flowering.

Silvery leaves hint at the fact that Tillandsia ‘Houston’ (stricta X recurvifolia) is a more drought-tolerant air plant that can take brighter light.

Some air plants produce a flower spike; others nestle blooms within the rosette of leaves. Like many tillandsias, Tillandsia abdita leaves turn a striking color when plants are blooming.