Vertically Mounted
Air Plant Canisters
Great fun and simple to make, these planted canisters look like miniature desert landscapes and provide a novel means of decorating a wall, fence, or even your front door with some quirky living greenery.
TIME IT RIGHT Late spring or summer is a good time to plant your canisters since air plants aren’t frost hardy. Put the canisters outside for summer, bringing them indoors from mid-fall.
Apply a small amount of superglue around one half of the outside rim of a cake pan. Be careful not to apply too much.
Press a rectangle of acetate over the glued half of the rim so that it covers it completely with sufficient overlap.
«-Project Steps
3 Leave to dry completely overnight, then neatly cut around the cake pan rim with a pair of scissors to remove the excess acetate.
Spoon layers of sand and gravel into the “planting chamber”; this is for decorative purposes— air plants don’t need soil to grow. Build up contrasting layers until the plants will be able to set comfortably and longer leaves can extend over the rim of the acetate. Top with florist’s ornamental moss for extra decoration, if you like.
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6 Position the air plants so that they are stable and evenly spaced. Hold the cake pans up to the wall or fence and create an arrangement that works for you. With a pencil, mark where the tops of each pan will be positioned.
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7 Stick half a Velcro pad near the top of each pan, then stick the other half at the matching point on the wall or fence, ensuring all pads are level. Press the pans on to the wall so that the pads are exactly aligned.
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‘Where to site Air plants like warmth but not direct sunlight and are happy outdoors from spring to early fall. Bring inside before temperatures drop below 46°F (8°C). Keep plants indoors where light levels and air circulation are good. Do not place near heat sources; a damp atmosphere is preferable.
‘Watering Air plants absorb moisture through their leaves and should be sprayed 2-3 times a week (ideally with rainwater), more frequently during summer or in dry conditions. Give plants a soak at least once a month by submerging them in room temperature water for a little while, but be sure to shake off any excess water.
General Care Remove any dead, diseased, or dying foliage and do not to let any water sit in the base of the plant because this could cause it to rot.
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Feed with a diluted special air plant liquid fertilizer misted on leaves once a week in spring and summer, every two weeks in winter.
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Mexican-style
