Air plants, or Tillandsias, are distinguished from most plants in their lack of roots. This is quite unique, because roots are necessary for the development, and survival of most plants. Tillandsias, in contrast, absorb water and nutrients through the leaves.
In addition to being easy to maintain, air plants are prevalent because of the many ways to show them off in the house.
They are versatile in interior design, but best of all, they can thrive without soil!
A person can easily attach them to surfaces such as walls, wreaths, and wood in your home. If you want to attach your air plants to wood, this article is for you.
We will show you how to attach air plants to wood in 6 steps. Mopani wood and Grapevine wood are two of the most commonly used woods for this use.
Step 1: Prepare the Wood
You should identify the right type of wood for this, also be sure that not all wood will make a good base.
You will also want to think about the shape and size of the wood. Keep in mind the wood should match the aesthetic of your house. So, trim and reshape if necessary.
Try It Out! As we stated above, some of the best wood for this are Grapevine wood and Mopani wood.
Step 2: Clean and Trim the Plant
While there are a few varieties of air plants, they all have different growing characteristics.
Before the air plant is affixed to the wood, you want to check that the plant is in great shape. First of all, you want to take off any dead leaves. Dead leaves will typically be on the bottom of the plant.
Most of the time, the dead leaves will have somewhat of a different appearance than the living leaves, and they will often be yellowish in color. Just be careful, because you don’t want to pull off any healthy leaves.
If the plant is larger than what you want, before you affix it to the wood, you can consider trimming it back to the size or design you want it to be.
Most importantly, you want to make sure the adhesive has something solid to stick to.
Step 3: Work Out Where to Mount the Plant on The Wood
Choose a location for air plant holders
You can locate chucks of wood in various sizes and shapes. Some are very irregular, and may even have small holes and crevices.
Some have long branch like sticks. Depending on how many air plants you want to tie onto a wood chuck this could determine the location of tying air plants onto the wood.
In any case try and not to just randomly tie your air plants onto the wood. Try to develop a process or system. You may try a certain distance between the plants, or develop a unique pattern.
In other words: develop some thought in regards to the aesthetic that you are trying to achieve for your project.
Step 4: Apply the Adhesive and Give It Time to Dry
In general, attaching air plants to wood requires general glue types. This is because glue types do not allow the soaking-in water process to take place for the plant. Also, if you plan on switching the air plant to a different location, the glue also makes removal difficult.
Fortunately, there are plant-safe glue types on the market, that allow the soaking in the water process. An example is formula E-6000. Not only is this glue waterproof (a plus), but it will NOT interfere when you water the plants.
Even after you have the glue in hand, be careful when applying the glue to the plant for the purpose of mounting it to the wood. For example, do not get glue on the leaves. Only apply the glue around the base of the plant.
Quick Tip: Apply a dollop of glue on the air plant and allow it to try for about 10 seconds prior to mounting the plant on the wood.
Step 5: Attach the Plant
Take your time attaching your air plant onto the wood, ensuring the base lies flat against the wood itself.
Make sure your leaves and stems are not caught up during the plant attachment. The leaves themselves provide water and nutrients to the plant through the cellular system, so you want to be conscious of how you mount them.
If you are mounting plants that have swollen or bulging bases, it is recommended to mount them horizontally or upside down to avoid nastiness of water pooling in their bases.
Examples of these types of plants are:
- T. pseudobaileyi and
- T. caput medusae.
Step 6: Use A Wire to Hold The Plant in Place Until It Sticks Properly
After affixing your air plant, don’t expect it to adhere right away. This is where the wire comes into play to hold it in the proper spot while the adhesive cures and the plant can stand on its own. Once you’re ready to use a wire, stay away from any copper wires.
The reason for that is due to the fact that copper is toxic to air plants and could kill them. Using a wire to hold an air plant is also pretty easy since they stick to wood.
Because the air plant sticks to the wood itself, you will simply need to loop the wire around the base of the plant and wrap it loosely around the branch, or possibly in the nooks and crannies of the wood, depending on where you glued the plant.
After the air plant has attached properly, you can carefully remove the wire.
Helpful Tip: Since you can hold the air plant in place with a wire, it really can’t hurt to use one since the only other option is to try to hold the plant in place with your hands, which is going to waste time.
How Do You Take Care of Air Plants Mounted on Wood?
Air plants require a sufficient amount of moisture to flourish. Because you have affixed the plant to the wood using glue, please do not soak it. Just mist the plant with water or dunk the leaves and shoot in water.
The key take away is to keep the base of the plant as dry as you can. The reason is a wet base will decay the plant to the mounting surface.
Also, when watering the plant, you want to keep it at an angle that the water won’t run down to the base. You want to make sure that the base is dry to the touch before you re-hang it on the wood after watering.
The only time you will soak the plant is when you want to remove it from the mount. Only if the glue is not water proof.
To do this, if the base is glued to wood, you will need to water the base of the air plant every once in a while until the glue wears away enough to separate the plant from the wood.
If you are placing the air plants on your front door, then make sure that it is not in direct sunlight. Like other tropical plants, tillandsias are happiest in the shade with bright but filtered light.
Protect Your Plant: So if you see that the sun hits the plant at a certain time of the day, it will be best to bring the plants inside until it is safe to be out again.
Final Words
Air plants are true trendsetters when it comes to decorative plants.
Their aesthetic versatility is hopefully second to none. The display opportunities for air plants are literally endless.
Because air plants don’t need roots and soil to grow, their movement and display can be as elaborate or simple as you’d like, allowing for an endless variety of aesthetics.
Mounting air plants on wood is one option for displaying them. This post outlines the step-by-step process for attaching your air plants (tillandsias) to wood.
The best glue for this project is a waterproof, plant-safe glue, such as E-6000. Rubber cement or other types of school glues will do more harm than good, and won’t give you the expected results.