I have a Boston fern that I've had for at least 30 years. He's HUGE. Ferns just don't like to dry out. Ever. They won't wilt to tell you they are thirsty. If it wilts, it means it's going to get brown and crumbly. And that makes sense if you consider where they grow and that they reproduce by spore-- not seed. After you get that right, they're really easy and pretty tolerant of many light situations (but not super low, and not a ton of direct sun all day). Ferns in general are beautiful, full plants. The care is a little different then, say, a philodendron or an Alocasia.... Or any of the tropicals, really, but once you get it, easy peasy!
@@behumandonthateNo, unfortunately not. You'll find Ferns don't wilt like other plants. They don't recover from that. (Most ferns in the wild grow in areas that stay consistently moist all the time, so it kind of makes sense). If your fern is wilty, it almost always means it will go crunchy soon. However, once they're crispy, cut those fronds off and usually you'll see new fiddle heads very soon. Just be careful with your watering (they won't need as much if they don't have a lot of fronds left) and they should recover. Luckily, they are pretty efficient at new growth usually! Good luck!
I remember you saying ages ago how you didn't get this plant and it kept dying. well done for sticking with it, its looking much better than it was! mines a little more sorry for it self right now, so will watch this again with my pen and pad later x
I found a tiny baby Boston fern at the 99¢ store two weeks ago. I’ve never had one and came across your video while trying to learn how not to kill it 😅 Thank you for the help!
One thing I’m surprised people don’t do is put mulch in the pot. It’s helped my several native ferns keep moist and it’s so cheap to do. You don’t have to water nearly as much as well, and secondly it gives them the organic matter they also need that’s similar to their native environment! Mulch helps so much!
I had two Boston ferns on plant pedestals at the entrance to my home. They received bright indirect light due to a covered front patio and living in South Central Texas…it’s humid here for the most part. Unfortunately I killed my ferns because I went out of town and they got very thirsty. But I also found that the attracted mosquitoes! I probably should’ve watered it mosquito tea, but I didn’t. I have tropical bougainvilleas at the entrance to my walkway and a pothos mixture. They love it there! Watching this video makes me want to get some ferns out there again this year..they are so elegant looking. 🙂
Love this advice! Have had the same scenario happen to🙏 me when growing Ferns, was trying to figure it out by trial and error but am so happy to have found your channel truly look forward to trying your tips
You are right with all the information. I had one growing underneath a very bright veranda,it grew fronds at least a meter long,I would hose it down every second or third day,South Australia,it’s very hot. It got so big,I moved it underneath a big tree,it’s receiving less light and it’s much shorter fronds. I do want one indoors but I might start with a new one from a nursery.Never let it dry out like you mentioned. Good job on keeping it healthy indoors. 💚🌿🌿🌿
Ferns are so under rated and get such a bad reputation! Personally I think they're just misunderstood and we just need little more patience to figure them out! I have a collection of ferns hanging on my bathroom wall right next to the shower (as close as they can get without being IN the shower). I love how they transform the room and they love the shower humidity life.
Thank you for doing this video after your own trial and error with the Ferns. I just bought two of them and thought they were low light plants. I know about the humidity.... oddly they were growing in a sort of open air enclosed environment at a store, and though they don't look as lush and green as yours and have a few brown spots, they really don't look bad despite the fact that I am pretty sure they were not getting a ton of humidity. They were sitting along the wall, presumably to keep them out of the direct light, and they were growing in the same (albeit very very large) room as lavenders, just in a different spot. Maybe the humidity outside is greater than I realize, though honestly you can't feel the humidity in my state most days like you would in the tropics.
I have a large boston fern, next to my north window. It’s next to a window I keep open very often. I’ve been bottom watering, and ignoring it. Almost never sprayed water on the leaves. It’s over a year now, and it’s trailing. 😁
Thank you Claire as always. Live your information and presentation and the cute Pup. Often sharing your programs on my FB page. And needed this one as just acquired a Boston Fern again.
Your Boston fern is lovely!!! I have found the Boston fern easy to grow and have seen some planted outside shopping malls in protected areas where temperatures can drop to -6 C and still survive. They are quite resilient. Other favourites I have, are the Macho fern, Blue Star fern, Blue ribbon fern and my all time favourite the Leatherleaf fern. Avoid dry heat from radiators in winter.
I havr one from last summer indpors now. It was HUGE last summer. Very full and extremely thin fromfs. Now, its thin and not very pretty. It lost a ton of leaves and fronds over winter. Its FINALLY starting to get some new growth. Im praying it comes back this year and is as pretty as last summer.
These plants can go downhill so quickly it's ridiculous. The same thing happened to mine, it was delivered, looked amazing for literally two days, and then went brown and crispy overnight. Now I'm in the process of rehabilitating it but seriously, the question has to be asked: why do I do it to myself -.-?
We brought ours in from the garden, gave it quarantine/cleaning and massive trim before bringing it into the basement and instead of going dormant (like it should) it started growing back to it’s form again…there’s a 12hr grow light with it and others ie oxalis (which also this year did not go dormant)🤷🏻♀️…Canada ❄️🌬️🌨️
Neglect.... Thats what works for me.... because if i overthink it i will kill it.... i ave a variegated one ( tiger i thinks it's called) and its growing wild i had to divide it
@@TheJungleHaven yes I am in North Yorkshire. Mine grow in the office on the top of the shelving unit. They get a light from the grow light ( spider-farmer) but the said light is a good meter away. I fo run humidifier in the office because that's where I grow my orchids.
Not a boston fern but My Hurricane Bird's nest fern is doing pretty good in pon. My biggest challenge right now is to not kill it by overheating my house because of our Canadian winter and a big poorly insulated house. But that's kind of my mood for my whole collection. This darn winter 😅
Boston fern is one of my first plants and one that I've never had a problem with... till now. My bathroom is the only place I can grow it but it is very drafty and it's not doing very well now :-( ( Just have to get to spring already lol )
I gave up with ferns. A long time ago I bought fern, had no idea how to take care of it, never changed the soil after buying and it was amazing, beautiful plant for a long long time. But when I moved out from England to Scotland, I left it. After a few years, when I got obsessed with plants ( all growing perfectly), I decided to get new Boston fern. Changed the soil, watered as I should and it died... another one same. I have no idea why, so I gave up. The only fern it's still alive is crocodile one🤷🏼♀️
The place we live put the air vents RIGHT NEXT TO the big sliding glass doors, which are basically our only windows. I am so frustrated trying to figure out how to have plants in my apartment because of this. SMH To make it worse, they put balconies on the 2nd floor directly above those windows, so they never get bright light. At least I do have one room I "might" be able to have plants next to the window, but it's the North side of the building, so it also doesn't get that much light. This is why I decided to get Boston ferns, because they take indirect light and are said to tolerate low light levels. I read that they grow in low light, and do great as houseplants for that reason, so I thought if they get low to medium indirect light, maybe they will survive ... I just hope they are far enough away from the air vents. It's so frustrating to not be able to have the plants I love, all because of the placement of these vents. I have bought some floor lamps to try to supplement the light if needed, and just stick grow bulbs in those to help boost the light if needed. I sure hope getting these lower light plants works.. I am so tired of my plants dying between the air vents, not enough humidity etc.
Mines in the bathroom in front of a West facing frosted window and is loving life. Tend to water roughly once a week in winter and twice in the Summer . It’s my least troublesome plant . I was thinking about putting it outside in the Summer , I live in North of England. What do you think ?
Do you have any experience with asparagus ferns? It's not actually a fern but that's the common name for it. I just got a small one yesterday and I am finding so many mixed information on them... any thoughts?
I'm from Australia 🇦🇺 I have 4 ferns. I have just started with ferns. Only had mine for about 3 months. They sit with my 10 Alocasias. I don't have a Boston fern . I have a ribbon a crocodile a blue stat and a maidenhair fern. I thought if I can grow the maidenhair then I'm going ok . Since everyone says it's a hard fern. The ferns and Alocasias sit near my humidifier. It's currently 77% humidity atm. My humidifier only ever comes on if I have to use my air conditioner. It hasn't been a hot summer here so I haven't had to use it very often. I am watering a lot atm anyway so it's no issue to add the ferns. I'm watering my 22 different Caletheas and 10 Alocasias twice a week atm. So it's no real effort to add the ferns. I'm 18months into being a plant mum and have almost 100 plants. I'm always watering. No problems adding in the ferns. I presume all ferns have the basic same care requirements. Have just watered my ferns again watching this . Lol
Two weeks ago I brought in a baby fern from the back yard path, 2" tall. And it flourished, growing a new fron. Then suddenly everything was wilting, even the third newest one. Now it's all mushy. I tried to repot but I guess I drowned it already😢
So what about semi hydro? What’s your opinion would it work? I have a lemon button I almost did in, put it in semi hydro and it’s doing nothing. Granted it’s winter but I’m wondering if I should move it back to dirt. Hmmm
do you have an alocasia polly? i accidentally got one labelbled as a philodendron and its yellowing and im not sure why i have it beside my humidifyer with plenty orf heat and it does seem to be producing new growth but it also seems to be losing quite a bit of leaves this is the fist week in my home
I have a Boston fern that I've had for at least 30 years. He's HUGE. Ferns just don't like to dry out. Ever. They won't wilt to tell you they are thirsty. If it wilts, it means it's going to get brown and crumbly. And that makes sense if you consider where they grow and that they reproduce by spore-- not seed. After you get that right, they're really easy and pretty tolerant of many light situations (but not super low, and not a ton of direct sun all day). Ferns in general are beautiful, full plants. The care is a little different then, say, a philodendron or an Alocasia.... Or any of the tropicals, really, but once you get it, easy peasy!
Once they become brown and crispy do they go back to their old self after watering? Pls help.
@@behumandonthateNo, unfortunately not. You'll find Ferns don't wilt like other plants. They don't recover from that. (Most ferns in the wild grow in areas that stay consistently moist all the time, so it kind of makes sense). If your fern is wilty, it almost always means it will go crunchy soon. However, once they're crispy, cut those fronds off and usually you'll see new fiddle heads very soon. Just be careful with your watering (they won't need as much if they don't have a lot of fronds left) and they should recover. Luckily, they are pretty efficient at new growth usually! Good luck!
@@larab5214 thanks a ton!
I remember you saying ages ago how you didn't get this plant and it kept dying. well done for sticking with it, its looking much better than it was! mines a little more sorry for it self right now, so will watch this again with my pen and pad later x
I found a tiny baby Boston fern at the 99¢ store two weeks ago. I’ve never had one and came across your video while trying to learn how not to kill it 😅 Thank you for the help!
One thing I’m surprised people don’t do is put mulch in the pot. It’s helped my several native ferns keep moist and it’s so cheap to do. You don’t have to water nearly as much as well, and secondly it gives them the organic matter they also need that’s similar to their native environment! Mulch helps so much!
do you buy the mulch or just take from outside?
@@sproggi we had some in the garden so I used that. Helps out SO much.
@@kevinharrigan2727 thanks! :D
i put mine in a fish tank and it's growing crazy fast. (semi-aquaponic)
i love groot in the background lol
Watching this from Miami.. a Boston fern thrives indoors… super low maintenance but will resemble kale chips outdoors
The fern is hardest plant for me to take care of indoors! Although it thrives in the summer for me on a covered porch. Thank you for your great tips!
I had two Boston ferns on plant pedestals at the entrance to my home. They received bright indirect light due to a covered front patio and living in South Central Texas…it’s humid here for the most part. Unfortunately I killed my ferns because I went out of town and they got very thirsty. But I also found that the attracted mosquitoes! I probably should’ve watered it mosquito tea, but I didn’t. I have tropical bougainvilleas at the entrance to my walkway and a pothos mixture. They love it there! Watching this video makes me want to get some ferns out there again this year..they are so elegant looking. 🙂
Love this advice! Have had the same scenario happen to🙏 me when growing Ferns, was trying to figure it out by trial and error but am so happy to have found your channel truly look forward to trying your tips
You are right with all the information. I had one growing underneath a very bright veranda,it grew fronds at least a meter long,I would hose it down every second or third day,South Australia,it’s very hot. It got so big,I moved it underneath a big tree,it’s receiving less light and it’s much shorter fronds. I do want one indoors but I might start with a new one from a nursery.Never let it dry out like you mentioned. Good job on keeping it healthy indoors. 💚🌿🌿🌿
Ferns are so under rated and get such a bad reputation! Personally I think they're just misunderstood and we just need little more patience to figure them out!
I have a collection of ferns hanging on my bathroom wall right next to the shower (as close as they can get without being IN the shower). I love how they transform the room and they love the shower humidity life.
Thank you for doing this video after your own trial and error with the Ferns. I just bought two of them and thought they were low light plants. I know about the humidity.... oddly they were growing in a sort of open air enclosed environment at a store, and though they don't look as lush and green as yours and have a few brown spots, they really don't look bad despite the fact that I am pretty sure they were not getting a ton of humidity. They were sitting along the wall, presumably to keep them out of the direct light, and they were growing in the same (albeit very very large) room as lavenders, just in a different spot.
Maybe the humidity outside is greater than I realize, though honestly you can't feel the humidity in my state most days like you would in the tropics.
I keep this plant in my bathroom. The leaves fallen and looking very sad so bought a new one. Good timing I am watching this video 👍
I have a large boston fern, next to my north window. It’s next to a window I keep open very often. I’ve been bottom watering, and ignoring it. Almost never sprayed water on the leaves. It’s over a year now, and it’s trailing. 😁
Thank you Claire as always. Live your information and presentation and the cute Pup. Often sharing your programs on my FB page. And needed this one as just acquired a Boston Fern again.
Your Boston fern is lovely!!! I have found the Boston fern easy to grow and have seen some planted outside shopping malls in protected areas where temperatures can drop to -6 C and still survive. They are quite resilient. Other favourites I have, are the Macho fern, Blue Star fern, Blue ribbon fern and my all time favourite the Leatherleaf fern. Avoid dry heat from radiators in winter.
I havr one from last summer indpors now. It was HUGE last summer. Very full and extremely thin fromfs. Now, its thin and not very pretty. It lost a ton of leaves and fronds over winter. Its FINALLY starting to get some new growth. Im praying it comes back this year and is as pretty as last summer.
These plants can go downhill so quickly it's ridiculous. The same thing happened to mine, it was delivered, looked amazing for literally two days, and then went brown and crispy overnight. Now I'm in the process of rehabilitating it but seriously, the question has to be asked: why do I do it to myself -.-?
Regards from Nottingham ☺️😊🤗
We brought ours in from the garden, gave it quarantine/cleaning and massive trim before bringing it into the basement and instead of going dormant (like it should) it started growing back to it’s form again…there’s a 12hr grow light with it and others ie oxalis (which also this year did not go dormant)🤷🏻♀️…Canada ❄️🌬️🌨️
I enjoy watching this beautiful plants ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Thank you for this ! Recently got mine and realised very fast it was picky and my plant went brown and crispy 😂 will try these tips!
Were u able to revive those brown and crispy leaves?
I killed mine with I lived in Florida. I even names him, Charles. He was just not into me. LOL!
Super helpful vid, thank you! 💖
Neglect.... Thats what works for me.... because if i overthink it i will kill it.... i ave a variegated one ( tiger i thinks it's called) and its growing wild i had to divide it
Oh wowww really?! I daren't neglect mine - the times I have before she's gone SERIOUSLY downhill. Are you in the UK?
@@TheJungleHaven yes I am in North Yorkshire. Mine grow in the office on the top of the shelving unit. They get a light from the grow light ( spider-farmer) but the said light is a good meter away. I fo run humidifier in the office because that's where I grow my orchids.
Not a boston fern but My Hurricane Bird's nest fern is doing pretty good in pon. My biggest challenge right now is to not kill it by overheating my house because of our Canadian winter and a big poorly insulated house. But that's kind of my mood for my whole collection. This darn winter 😅
Boston fern is one of my first plants and one that I've never had a problem with... till now. My bathroom is the only place I can grow it but it is very drafty and it's not doing very well now :-( ( Just have to get to spring already lol )
I gave up with ferns. A long time ago I bought fern, had no idea how to take care of it, never changed the soil after buying and it was amazing, beautiful plant for a long long time. But when I moved out from England to Scotland, I left it. After a few years, when I got obsessed with plants ( all growing perfectly), I decided to get new Boston fern. Changed the soil, watered as I should and it died... another one same. I have no idea why, so I gave up. The only fern it's still alive is crocodile one🤷🏼♀️
Wow nice sharing videos
By far the biggest problem I have with Boston ferns is mealy bug. They can easily kill the plant.
The place we live put the air vents RIGHT NEXT TO the big sliding glass doors, which are basically our only windows. I am so frustrated trying to figure out how to have plants in my apartment because of this. SMH To make it worse, they put balconies on the 2nd floor directly above those windows, so they never get bright light. At least I do have one room I "might" be able to have plants next to the window, but it's the North side of the building, so it also doesn't get that much light.
This is why I decided to get Boston ferns, because they take indirect light and are said to tolerate low light levels. I read that they grow in low light, and do great as houseplants for that reason, so I thought if they get low to medium indirect light, maybe they will survive ... I just hope they are far enough away from the air vents. It's so frustrating to not be able to have the plants I love, all because of the placement of these vents.
I have bought some floor lamps to try to supplement the light if needed, and just stick grow bulbs in those to help boost the light if needed. I sure hope getting these lower light plants works.. I am so tired of my plants dying between the air vents, not enough humidity etc.
Mines in the bathroom in front of a West facing frosted window and is loving life. Tend to water roughly once a week in winter and twice in the Summer . It’s my least troublesome plant . I was thinking about putting it outside in the Summer , I live in North of England. What do you think ?
Do you have any experience with asparagus ferns? It's not actually a fern but that's the common name for it. I just got a small one yesterday and I am finding so many mixed information on them... any thoughts?
I'm from Australia 🇦🇺 I have 4 ferns. I have just started with ferns. Only had mine for about 3 months. They sit with my 10 Alocasias. I don't have a Boston fern . I have a ribbon a crocodile a blue stat and a maidenhair fern. I thought if I can grow the maidenhair then I'm going ok . Since everyone says it's a hard fern. The ferns and Alocasias sit near my humidifier. It's currently 77% humidity atm. My humidifier only ever comes on if I have to use my air conditioner. It hasn't been a hot summer here so I haven't had to use it very often. I am watering a lot atm anyway so it's no issue to add the ferns. I'm watering my 22 different Caletheas and 10 Alocasias twice a week atm. So it's no real effort to add the ferns. I'm 18months into being a plant mum and have almost 100 plants. I'm always watering. No problems adding in the ferns. I presume all ferns have the basic same care requirements. Have just watered my ferns again watching this . Lol
Two weeks ago I brought in a baby fern from the back yard path, 2" tall. And it flourished, growing a new fron. Then suddenly everything was wilting, even the third newest one. Now it's all mushy. I tried to repot but I guess I drowned it already😢
Clair do you propagate your corms in water I thought you showed them in water? Do you ever use anything but water? If so which do you feel is faster?
So what about semi hydro? What’s your opinion would it work? I have a lemon button I almost did in, put it in semi hydro and it’s doing nothing. Granted it’s winter but I’m wondering if I should move it back to dirt. Hmmm
Would these conditions apply to the Rabbit’s Foot fern also?
do you have an alocasia polly? i accidentally got one labelbled as a philodendron and its yellowing and im not sure why i have it beside my humidifyer with plenty orf heat and it does seem to be producing new growth but it also seems to be losing quite a bit of leaves this is the fist week in my home
I don’t have a Boston fern, but I have a few other types of ferns. Do you think the same care tips apply?
Absolutely!!!!