Holiday DIY Air Plant Gifts

Inexpensive, easy and beautiful, what could be better? These fabulous Holiday DIY Air Plant arrangements are perfect to give to all your favorite people this year.

I recently teamed up the fabulous Liz Vayda of b.willow from Baltimore to create five unique air plant arrangements for holiday gift giving. Using inexpensive glassware from garage sales or antique shops, a few craft store holiday decorations, some natural elements and of course some colorful and shapely air plants, in a few short minutes you have unique and fun gifts for teachers, neighbors, family and friends that won’t break the bank.

By including holiday accents that are easy to remove, this project will be versatile to your or any recipient’s home design year round.

We’ve used silver and gold garland, small ball ornaments, and wooden cranberries.

These DIY Air Plants are especially great for gifts because they are easy for kids to help with. Go hiking with your kids or, maybe even better, alone!, to gather natural elements outdoors. Let them lend a hand to make something special for their favorite teacher.

Here’s the long and short of why I love air plants. They are a plant you barely have to care for, yet one that looks fabulous and sculptural. So turn your brown thumb into something stunningly green and red, just in time for Christmas!

Holiday DIY Air Plant

Materials

// Air Plants (Most nurseries will have a small selection in the greenhouse section. Or, order them online: http://www.airplantsupplyco.com/ , www.airplantcity.com)
// Sheet Moss (Available in most nurseries or online: http://www.mossesunlimited.com/)
// Rocks
// Sand
// Pine cones
// Small holiday decorations
// Glassware or interesting vessel (Look around your house for glassware that you aren’t using: shallow dishes, globes, ice cream cups, etc. Or, pick something up at a thrift store for less than $5.)

Depending on the size and shape of your glassware, there are different ways to layer your ingredients so that every element is highlighted. But truly, the air plant doesn’t rest in soil so really you can just have fun with it all.

For a shallower dish, use moss as a base to prop everything else up. After placing your air plants, use rocks and/or holiday decorations to give it that holiday sparkle.

If you’re using something taller, have fun with the layers. Try adding some sand to the bottom, followed by rocks, small pine cones, or decorative cranberries. Top it off with your air plant, surrounded by sheet moss.

About/Care

Tillandsias (aka Air Plants) are a beautiful and easy way to bring more natural elements into your indoor space. What sets air plants (and other members of the Ephiphyte family) apart is their unique ability to thrive without soil. In their native tropical regions, they live non-parasitically on other plants and trees. It’s really in the name- they absorb everything they need directly from the air.

With just a few things in mind, you can easily care for your Air Plant.
Light: Bright, filtered light or fluorescent lighting. Too much direct sun can scorch your Air plants, or cause them to dry out and require more frequent watering.
Water: There are three ways to water your Air Plant; a combination of dunking, soaking & misting will keep your plants the happiest. Once a week, dunk your plants in water for about 10 minutes. Once every 2 weeks, soak the plant by placing its roots and base in a shallow pool of water for 1-2 hours. After dunking or soaking, leave your Air Plants out to dry fully. It’s important to do this in the morning, so that your plant will not be wet when it’s back in its container (persistent wetness=rot). You can also mist your air plant daily. This will allow you to soak or dunk slightly less, but don’t forego it completely.
Temperature: Keep your plants between 50-90 degrees fahrenheit.

Hope you are all working through your holiday to do lists . . maybe this has helped? Hoping so! xo, anne