Lovely little air plants (and where to find them)

Ever since I saw the first air plants pop up a couple of years ago I knew I wanted to get my grubby little hands on them. I had to be patient, but I finally have my own small collection of air plants!

When I started looking for air plants, they were nowhere to be found in Belgium. It took a while, but now the air plant hype has landed. They’re a couple of stores selling them in Ghent and online, but I find their prices quite outrageous. Luckily for me there’s Luchtplantjes.nl. I’m still pretty much a cheap skate, so when I saw Luchtplantjes selling B-quality (meaning they’re not as symmetrical as they should be or don’t have perfect colouration) plants for cheap I ordered a bunch of them.

I ordered three B-quality plants and two A-quality: a Ionantha and a small Oaxacana. Everything together I paid €15,50, shipping included. Knowing that I can find OK-looking plants in Ghent for €12 a piece I think this was pretty much a bargain.

One of the reasons I didn’t want to spent too much on air plants is that the first air plant I bought almost immediately died. I know from experience I just can’t seem to keep some plants alive (gerberas and cacti e.g.); so I didn’t want to spent too much in case I had the same problem with air plants.

It’s been two months since my plants arrived and I can happily tell you they’re still all alive and kicking. I’ve noticed the different species do seem to need a bit of different care taking, because one of them looks a bit unhappy. I’m sure we’ll get there though.

I’m still looking for ways to display my air plants in the house. At the moment they’re just chilling on my desk and I love seeing them there, but I’d also like to display them in a more special way. I did buy a himmeli at the recent Etsy fair in Ghent, so maybe one of them will fit in there. 🙂

Have you guys jumped on the air plant train already? Do you also want to start a little collection?