Herself's Houseplants

This easy to grow fern loves shade and doesn’t mind if you forget to water it occasionally. It also will tolerate cold down to freezing occasionally.  The fronts will grow 1′ to 2′ long indoors if it is happy.  It will fill much thicker as it ages so there will be no space between the fronds.

It will be happiest in a hanging pot near a drafty window, on the north or east side of your home.  Like all ferns the more humid the spot it is in, the happier it will be.

Rabbit’s foot fern is not as messy as other ferns, so you won’t have to clean it up as often.

Propagation is best done by division when it out grows its pot.  You can also put a pot next to the pot with your fern and place one of the fuzzy feet a little bit under the soil.  It will send up a new green frond at which time you can separate it from the mother plant.

This plant rarely needs repotting, unless the roots are escaping out the bottom, I’d leave it be.

This plant is from Fiji where it grows in the crooks of tree limbs. Peat moss combined with an equal amount of bark makes the best potting mix for Rabbit’s foot ferns.  But if you are someone who forgets to water your plants, I’d use a regular potting soil.  The peat and bark dry out fast.

While loved by everyone who grows them they are hard to locate at local nurseries and you’ll likely have to find an online source or an owner willing to part with a plug.

This fern grows well with epiphytic orchids if you are looking for a companion plant for your orchid.

Elk horn fern is a gnarly version of a bird’s nest fern. It wants slightly more light than most ferns and lots of water like all ferns do. If you like bird’s nests ferns but want something slightly different check this one out.

I find the broad leaf ferns are much easier to grow indoors than the smaller leaved versions. This one should do fine just about anywhere in your home, I’d avoid putting it in direct sun however.

Water it frequently but do not let it sit in water.

The height is about 18″, the spread is about 18″ as well.

If you purchase one online be sure to double check the Latin name, I found several ferns going by the ‘Elkhorn Fern’ name while I was researching this one.

Bird’s nest ferns want moist soil, not a great deal of sun, no direct sun is fine, and it doesn’t mind the cold. they will do fine in drafty locations. This is one of the easiest houseplants to grow.

Do not mist these ferns! While like most plants, they love humidity, they do not like to have their leaves wet for any length of time. If you feel they need more humidity set the plant pot on a dish of gravel that has water in it.

In a pot this fern will likely reach about 18″ tall.

There are over 700 species of Asplenium worldwide, they are found everywhere. The nested leaves form a catch all place for debri which rots and forms compost to feed the fern. Outdoors you might find insects living there or even other plants that have taken up residence.

Propagate by division. It will form spores on the back of the leaves in straight lines when it is happy.

Possible problems you might have with bird’s nest ferns:
Root rot: no new growth appears, black flies may be around plant, soil might smell musty, leaves turn brown then black.

Solution – Repot. Take the plant out of old soil. Carefully wash off the plant and roots. There is bacteria you must remove before repotting. A little dish soap is ok. Replant in new clean soil. If you are using the same pot be sure to scrub it with bleach or run through the dishwasher first.

Leaf Nematodes: Brown spots appear near the center of the leaf near main vein and spread out to leaf edges.

Solution: You might save the plant by immediately removing infected leaves, maybe not. It might be possible to kill the nematodes by raising plant temperature over 125′F. Fill the sink with water warmer than 125′ and soak the plant for at least 10 minutes. Thoroughly wash the plant, a little dish soap is fine. Repot in clean soil. If you are using the same pot, send it through the dishwasher or scrub it with bleach first.

Scale: Little brown bumps on underside of leaves. Leaves may be sticky.

Solution: Wash with warm water and dishs oap, spray with orange oil if that doesn’t work.

So you want to grow ferns in your home but it’s just too dry. This is the fern for you.

Japanese holly fern tolerates dry air much better than traditional ferns. It prefers moist soil but unlike other ferns it will forgive you occasionally forgetting to water it.

It will live in dark corners of your home but will grow and thrive with some light. Keep it from direct afternoon sun however.

It also grows slower than most ferns so choose one close to the size you want it to be. It will max out at about a foot high and 3′ across. Divide and repot if it gets too large.

Leaves are thick with serrated, sharp edges. Spores form in small circular patches underneath fronds.