Tillandsia Mounting Tips

We know that Air plants will grow without soil. We know that we can mount them on all kinds of mediums. I have tried several and to be honest, I am disappointed with a lot of my displays. They look great to start with and seem to be very well mounted and then....

Hot glue works well for inside displays. I have a gun that has a low setting that protects my plants from too high a heat or a burn and I found that this is fine to keep a plant in place within the display but there are drawbacks. Do not place outside in hot sun or too close to a hot window. This softens the waxy adhesive and it no longer holds anything until it cools again. Makes perfect sense right? I just never thought of it until my display just fell apart.

Never use copper wire to mount an air plant. Copper will kill your plant. I have also learned that using something that rusts feeds your plant Iron. Too much iron is definately a no-no. Plant stake wire, or jewelry wire is great. So is Fishing line.

So what is the perfect mounting? Liquid nail works great, the waterproof kind. Also using the plants own roots is great. Remember that the roots do not absorb nutrients so if you have enough root, use wire around it or glue just the root structure. I have also used the roots to pull through an opening in shell or piece of driftwood and then glued that in place.

All in all, experimentation is the best advice here. Just be careful to protect the plant from damage by not using copper, rusty items, or too hot a glue gun.

Be sure to visit Air Plant City for more care items.