How to Get the Tillandsia Air Plant to Bloom

Air plants (Tillandsia spp.) comprise the largest genus of bromeliads, more than 550 species. Native to North and South America, air plants need very bright light, good air circulation, non-freezing growing conditions, rainfall and humidity to prosper. Depending on the species, most air plants bloom in fall, winter or spring. While the true flowers are tiny, tubular and often purple or lavender, the blushing colors of the plant's surrounding leaves are showier and long-lasting, anywhere from a few weeks to six months. Forcing an air plant into bloom may be done through temperature manipulation or treatment with ethylene gases.

Large clear plastic bag
Apple

Instructions

- 1
  Relocate the air plant to a location that drops down into the 40 to 50 degree Fahrenheit range at night or from late fall to late winter. Allow the plant to remain in this cooler location for four to eight weeks. Keep the plant in very bright light and do not fertilize during the winter months.
- 2
  Return the air plant to its original growing location in mid- to late winter, when temperatures are gradually getting warmer and the elongated day lengths indicate that you are heading into spring. Four to ten weeks after the winter treatment, its leaves should blush red or pink before the flowers appear. Resume increased watering, humidity and bi-weekly diluted -- one-quarter strength -- fertilization from spring to fall.
- 3
  Treat the air plant with ethylene gas if no flowering occurs within five months after the cool winter treatment.
- 4
  Place the air plant inside a clear plastic bag set indoors and outside of direct sunlight.
- 5
  Place an apple that's at least one-half the size of the bromeliad inside the bag next to the air plant and close the bag. Apples naturally release ethylene gas as they ripen. Keep the apple and air plant together in the bag for seven to 10 days.
- 6
  Remove the air plant from the bag and discard the apple. Replace the air plant in its original growing location and resume its usual seasonal regimen of watering or fertilization.
- 7
  Monitor the air plant, waiting one to five months for it to change its leaf color and produce a flower spike. In warmer months, the wait may only be one to three months, but in the cooler months, the slower metabolism of the bromeliad may take three to five months to finally color-up and bloom.

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