I've long been amazed by air plants, those wispy, ethereal plants that seem to exist by magic, living on nothing at all. Usually my lack of a green thumb scares me away from plant ownership, but I couldn't stop admiring these beauties, so I went to the air plant man himself to find out more.
Josh Rosen is a landscape architect whose passion for air plants has spawned a growing business offering the plants, as well as his original air plant frames and boxes to display them. His air plant-based design work has been featured in private residences, offices, retail spaces, restaurants and hotels.
What are airplants?
Air plants are an incredible genus of plants with the ability to live without soil. Their
specially adapted leaves absorb water and nutrients from the air, allowing them to live anywhere in nature, including suspended from treetops and bare rock. Found in South America and the southern United States, air plants have an amazing variety of shapes, colors, and sizes.
How did you get into air plants?
When I first saw air plants, they immediately captured my attention because their striking sculptural shapes reminded me of adorable alien creatures. Their astounding diversity made me want to collect them all (there are over 600 species) and their unique ability to live without soil sparked a lifelong obsession. I've been designing with them ever since.
How do you care for them?
Airplants like bright, indirect sunlight and filtered water. They can be watered either by submerging them for several hours about every 10 days, or spraying them until dripping wet more regularly. They like temperatures from 50-80 degrees.
There are so many different kinds. What's the best way to display them?
Because they're so versatile, the possibilities are endless. A single suspended air plant is simple and beautiful, but they can also be arranged in any style and in any area. That's why it's so fun to design with air plants — they can bring nature to any space, indoors or out.
For all things air plant and more of Josh's designs, check out Airplantman Designs.
(Images: Josh Rosen)
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
These are really pretty. Anyone know how widely available these are and how expensive they might be?
Where do you live PI? I've bought them at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, and feel like I've seen them at other botanic gardens in my travels. Otherwise there's different online sellers. Like http://www.airplantsupplyco.com. They're pretty cheap for small plants, you should be able to get one for $5 or less.
@Lorint, I'm in DC. I'm sure there are nurseries around me carry these, but for the life of me, I just can't remember a single one I've been to where I've seen them. Maybe I just wasn't looking in the right place.
enjoyed the post. thx. m
Oh man I love my air plants! In Sacramento we have a store named Exotic Plants and they are really reasonably priced (starting at $1.34). I saw the same plants at West Elm for 8 bucks...go figure!
I've seen them at Home Depot as well...usually kinda hidden, so you may have to ask a clerk or excercise patience and look really good!
Flora Grubb in San Francisco has lots. 3 plants for $40 is what I remember from visiting the store. check the web site: www.floragrubb.com
Thanks for this article, never knew what they were called but always liked seeing them.
Wow. These are different from anything I've seen. Airplants vary a lot in cost and I've really big ones for as much as $40 or $50. What's nice with these is the design, how they float over the box. The big frames are amazing. They're like a piece of art.
@Pi, I've purchased them online. Most of the places around me (Bay Area) that sell them ask WAY more than I'm willing to pay. I went with http://www.airplants4u.com/ and got one of their assortments. They arrived promptly and in good condition.
I have friends who hired Josh Rosen, the landscape arcitect interviewed for this story, to design an airplant garden in their high rise hollywood condo and it looks incredible. I would highly recommend him to anyone who likes the look and feel of airplants. They're such a great , unique, way of incorporating nature into your environment, and then Josh
Rosen turns them into art! I was excited to see this article and the pictures of his work after seeing what he's done in person.
I got mine on eBay and they've been great! I actually forgot to pick three of mine up and they were in the post office through the weekend, in winter.. Came out fine. I love that the are so indestructible.. They are pretty much the only plants I can keep alive. Pansies, basil, lucky bamboo.. kaput.
I always see these online either hanging from the ceiling by strings or in one of those round holders from CB2 -- it's become a "I threw this together in 5 seconds to sell at a huge mark-up on Etsy" kind of trend, so I had kind of hit my tolerance for air plants.
Until now, anyway. These arrangements are really beautiful. The dangling versions I mentioned above also have a tendency to look like weird, alien growths, but his holders make them look more like fire and the frames really highlight the interesting texture. Really lovely.
I love my airplants and must say that these arrangements by Josh Rosen are amazing. If I lived in the States I'd be sorely tempted to save up enough cash to get him to design something for my home...that last image of the kitchen installation is so stunning.
West Elm has them right now for their spring collection, Terrain has them online, and Sprout Home in Brooklyn and Chicago has tons of them.
Josh really gets it. Air plants are perfect for my home in LA. They have a stark but simple beauty that belongs in the Southwest. He has designed plants for me and I'm glad to see him receive some recognition.
I got my air plants from here:
www.rainforestflora.com (local store here in Los Angeles)
www.airplantsupplyco.com
@Pi, I've seen them at Johnson's Nursery on Wisconsin Avenue. As others have said, there are loads of them right now at West Elm (on M Street). And I've seen them for sale every year at the Takoma Park Street Festival (early October). If you google them, you can also find lots of online sources.
Those are some of the most beautiful air plant displays I have seen! The white pottery really accentuates the plants well. AirPlantShop.Com
Thanks,
Scott
Wow amazing ideas. I just started getting into Air Plants as well, I ended up getting mine from Air plant design studio and was happy with my purchase.
www.air-plants.com
Im Canadian and I get my Air Plants from www.canadianairplant.com they are Canada's largest Air Plant Co. and guarantee there plants.