Hi. I am completely new to air plants and I ordered two really cool ones about 2 weeks ago. One seems to be doing fine, but the other has brown spots on the leaves and the bottom looks more brown than I remember. Is this normal, or am I overwatering? (I’ve watered twice by soaking, drying upside down, since I got them.)
by SoupAffectionate5418
3 Comments
You’ll get plenty of really good help from other people, I’m still navigating the murky waters, I don’t soak and I just killed another 😩
looks like overwatering to me but hard to tell from just these photos!
Don’t soak the first one anymore. The base has too much surface and depth with tight nooks and crannies. Just mist but not so much that the water pools down or becomes saturated. I’d get a fan going for a bit so they can both dry out, if this is what they still look like rn(don’t blast it though or for too long, just until it doesn’t look wet). Also, give it a few shakes upside down to really get those deep droplets out. Second one, she’s touch and go right now as it looks overwhelmed with watering. Get the fan on too until it dries out. Then you can put both in a bright but indirect light. Filtered or dappled with some direct is ok too.
Don’t water the first until you see the leaves getting a little more curly and again, only mist. Second one, I’d wait a week or so(depending on your local humidity and weather) but really they can go some time over a week or two with only the ambient humidity. So keep that in mind. Yours need much less than what you are giving.
And final tip, don’t beat yourself up or get too upset if you lose one, two or ten lol because we all do. Everyone.
There’s a saying in the orchid/breeding industry along the lines of; ‘you can’t call yourself a professional nor expert if you haven’t killed at least a 100 plants’ ….so remember that if you do lose one.
Good luck, i think they’ll pull through if you ease up on the water and if there isn’t any deep down water damage.