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Growing ferns indoors
With their lush, delicate fronds, ferns are a favourite indoor plant, lending fresh, green good looks to any home. Given the right conditions, many ferns can be easy to grow and relatively low maintenance. Here are four of our favourite ferns, plus tips to keep them healthy.
1. How to grow Boston ferns (Nephrolepis exaltata)
Big, lush and beautiful, this popular fern with its cascading fronds is perfect for adding a touch of fresh vibrancy to an indoor space. Elegant ‘fishbone’ fronds can grow up to 2.5m long. Grow it in a pot or hanging basket and elevate on a plant stand or hang from the ceiling to fully appreciate its volume and beauty. Give it a spot with bright filtered light and keep the soil moist.
2. How to grow Maidenhair ferns (Adiantum raddianum)
The delicate fan-shaped leaves on black, wiry stems give the impression this fern is floating on air. It’s a bathroom favourite that loves a bright, humid spot; it prefers a position with bright indirect light and needs regular watering – it will die back quite dramatically if adequate moisture is not maintained. If this does happen, cut back the dead fronds and resume watering regularly, and it should bounce back.
3. How to grow Autumn ferns (Dryopteris erythrosora)
TA small fern, this forms a neat 50cm clump, making it ideal for a coffee table or bookshelf. New leaves emerge a brilliant russet-pink. It thrives in a bright spot out of direct sunlight and needs moist, but not soaking wet, soil. Dry air may cause the leaf edges to turn brown. Group with other plants to help maintain humidity or put the pot on top of a saucer filled with pebbles and water.
4. How to grow Silver Lady ferns (Blechnum gibbum ‘Silver Lady’)
A fast-growing variety with upward-arching foliage, this fern initially forms as a clump of fronds but eventually develops a slender, brown-black trunk with a crown of arching leaves that grow to between 60cm and 90cm long. Its striking appearance makes it a fabulous feature plant. Position in a warm, brightly lit spot out of direct sunlight and water often to keep the soil moist.
Grow your indoor jungle!
Get a healthier home with air-purifying indoor plants.
Photo Credit: Getty Images, Alamy Stock Photo
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