Green Thumb: the Air Plant

Growing houseplants in a condo—which, one supposes, would make them condoplants—is not as easy as all that for the simple reasons that a) condos are not known to be as tropically moist as greenhouses, and b) condo owners are busy people with more to do than garden.

Which is why we paid a visit to Poppies (full name: Poppies Plant of Joy), a most inventive plant and flower shop at the corner of Queen Street West and Dovercourt Road—just a block north of ArtCondos.

We told the very pleasant and very helpful Rebecca MacLachlan—who was tending Poppies that day—that we were in search of plants that would grow well in a condo. She was extremely helpful.

“Here’s a plant,” she said, leading us to an excitingly exotic piece of flora sitting out on the counter (which we thought was odd), “which would be an ideal condo plant. It’s super low-maintenance!” It appears to have spiky green leaves just like a normal plant, but it also puts out these weird tentacle-like flourishes, like a kind of calligraphy in the air.

We asked her what it was called. “It’s a Tillandsia,” she told us. “Better known as an Air Plant.” “It lives on air?” we ask her. “Right. It doesn’t need any earth or anything. All you have to do is to mist it once or twice a week.”

Which makes it maybe the least demanding houseplant ever. “It looks best of you group the plants,” MacLachlan suggests, “on a bed of peebles and moss (both of which can be bought at Poppies). The cost? An Air Plant sells for anywhere from $10.00 to $30.00, depending on its size— and you’ll want as few, since they look so great massed together.

Poppies is at 1094 Queen Street West. 416-538-2497, www.poppiesolantofjoy.com or poppiesplantofjoy.wordpress.com.