Hi everyone! My first big air plant, Tillandsia xerographica, is struggling. I got back from a trip and she was not in great shape, so I gave her a 30 minute soak and now there’s this white ring around the bottom and the stem part looks dark. I used tap water but I let it sit overnight to get all the chemicals out. Is there another problem I’m completely missing? I’m so lost 😅 thanks in advance!!! ❤️
letting the water sit out only allows a small amount of chlorine to evaporate, and negligible amounts of chloramine. if you need pure water (like for air plants) reverse osmosis water is what’s recommended, but you can also use rainwater
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So for air plants your half correct they love a soak but you need to keep them upside down for a while to dry. Now some plants are very sensitive to pure tap water so I like to add a dash of fish tank water conditioner from the pet shop since I keep aquariums I go through bottles kinda fast but for you could get a relatively small bottle and treat a gallon at a time and halve that bottle last probably a year and half. In my experience with air plants they are very fragile so you must understand the bottom is where it’s it’s most fragile and often breaking a leaf is normal. They don’t usually repair themselves so when they die off I carefully peel it off. Now do support optimal growth I use natural fertilizer to support optimal nutrition and growth and then put in a lighted spot.
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Agreed, definitely let it dry upside down near a fan.
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