7 Tips For Growing Boston Ferns
Boston ferns are popular houseplants and for good reason. These ferns are one of the oldest indoor plants in the world and they can thrive even with minimal effort on your end. They love full shade, they don’t need any dead-heading, truly, they are a busy gardener’s dream plant and make a good idea for a new plant.
The nephrolepsis exaltata goes by the more common names of Boston fern and Sword fern and are native to Florida, Mexico, West Indies, South and Central America, Africa, and Polynesia.
So you can imagine that they come from a dry climate and require additional humidity. They are used to humid environments in humid climates with lots of indirect light and higher humidity levels.
Get the point? They need plenty of water, extra humidity, dry air, shady area,s and possibly a humidity tray to thrive.
While taking care of Boston fern plants is straight-forward, there are certain things you need to keep in mind for best results and to make sure that they grow happy and healthy. Today, we’ll be talking about seven simple care tips to keep these ferns beautiful.
You might also like: Plants You Can Grow in the Shade Or Shade Loving Perennials
Tips for Growing Fabulous Boston Ferns at Home
- Grow them in proper soil. They thrive in rain forests and in tropical regions so you need to make sure that the soil you use at home mimics their natural habitat. You can do this by adding peat to the compost or fern’s soil. Make sure as well to use a well-draining potting mix and to prevent waterlogging your new fern and root rot.
- Don’t expose them to too much direct sunlight. They don’t need full sun to thrive. Indirect sunlight works better for them. This is one of the many reasons why they make great house plants. You can expose them to the early morning sun or late afternoon sun but anything in between can burn the tips of the fronds. Keep them in shared areas indoors, this plant does not require a bright spot.
- Place them in a humid area. Boston ferns are a type of fern that loves humid conditions, moist air, and high levels of humidity so if you have a sunroom, definitely place them there. If you don’t have an area like this in your house, place them in room temperature warm area and mist them once a week to create much-needed high humidity.
- Be smart about fertilizing. Fertilize these ferns every three to four weeks. It is also advisable to use liquid houseplant fertilizer, a water-soluble fertilizer, or slow-release fertilizer to prevent shocking or burning the plant.
You might also like: Flowers You Should Be Growing In Your Vegetable Garden
- Remove damaged fronds. Beautiful green fronds can get damaged and discolored due to uneven watering or too much fertilizer and then you’re left with dead fronds. It can also be caused by compacted soil, overcrowding, or even from too much contact with the plant. When brown leaves appear, prune them at the base as they appear.
- Put them in proper containers. You can definitely put them in containers and pots and even a hanging basket, but make sure that they have enough space to spread their roots. Use peat moss based potting soil. You can use a plastic pot or a ceramic pot, either will do you can also use a new pot or old pot, just make sure it is cleaned out, rinsed well and has plenty of good drainage holes as proper drainage is key to raising a healthy Boston fern.
- Check your home’s temperature. Ferns like warm and humid areas and they will thrive in temperatures of around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep these ferns in a warm spot with enough water in their new home to keep them happy and healthy and you’ll be thrilled with your plant’s growth.
Proper Boston fern care is not hard, they are easy to grow, you just need to know what makes them happy. Have you ever had one before? Share your experience and tips in the comments below.
You can also find gardening products I use in my videos here <---
I now have an Amazon Influencer’s storefront. I put the products I use, in my posts and Youtube Gardening videos, there. Shopping there is free and the site gets a percentage of sales. Thanks!
You can go to my storefront using this secure link <----
If you need seeds, this is the company I use <--- and if you use code: farmer1 at checkout, you'll get 10% off your order!
Leave a Reply