There ’s a maidenhair fern for every role , from tropical houseplants to winter - hardy fern for moist and suspect location .
With its feathery dark-green foliage , maidenhair fern fern makes a graceful addition to tint garden or areas of the rest home that offer it plenty of humidness and diffuse luminance . Make the commitment to provide this plant the animation conditions it require and you ’ll be rewarded with a specimen that enhances the landscape painting or convey the beauty of nature indoors .
Where to Plant Maidenhair Fern
In their native habitat , maidenhair fern grow in cool , humid sphere such as near umbrageous flow . This can be a catchy home ground to recreate in a home garden . endeavor to mime as much of its natural conditions as possible by embed the fern in a suspect placement with plenteous wet but not soggy atmospheric condition . The soil should hold in a substantial amount of leaf cast ( moulder leaves ) and have a pH in the alkaline range ( 7 to 8) .
For a optical goody , industrial plant maidenhair fern atop a rock wall where its elegant foliage can spill over the edge .
How and When to Plant Maidenhair Fern
The good planting time for maidenhair fern is in mid to belated spring or former summertime before the summer heat sets in . travail a yap that is a bit wider and as deep as the root word orchis of the fern so that the tip ( where roots and stem meet ) is about half an column inch below the filth surface . Backfill the hole with a combination of the original soil and leaf mold rather than with aged manure or compost because that ’s the way the fern grows in nature . Plant maidenhair ferns about 18 to 24 inches apart .
Maidenhair Fern Care Tips
Light
It ’s crucial to keep this fern sheltered because its delicate folio can promptly burn off and dry out out with too much sun . Plant it in a shady location where any direct Sunday ( if it ’s a factor ) reaches the plant only early in the morning time when its rays are less intense .
Soil and Water
Maidenhair ferns like organically rich , well - drain , wet - retentive grunge . Amend your garden soil , if needed , with compost and organic subject . Do n’t let maidenhair ferns dry out , or they ’ll expire back and go dormant .
Growing it indoors : In addition to or in place of everyday misting , you may require to place a dish filled with pebbles beneath the potted industrial plant . Fill the saucer with weewee to just below the top of the pebble . As the urine evaporates , it produce a humid microclimate around the flora . Don’t overwater ; saturated grime may moderate to prow or solution rot . And never let the ascendent dry out , or the industrial plant may shrivel up and go dormant or die .
Temperature and Humidity
Not all maidenhair fern ferns are delicate tropical flora . Surprisingly , many type are wintertime intrepid ; some are even aboriginal to the United States . For example , the northerly maidenhair fern , which is native to North America and East Asia , can be grown as low as in zone 3 . Maidenhair ferns want humidness to survive .
Fertilizer
Maidenhair fern take no to very little fertilizer , especially when grown outdoors , as fertile grunge provides it with sufficient nutrient . If at all , course potted maidenhair fern fern with a balanced fertilizer once a month , diluted to half its original metier , about once a month during the growing time of year .
Pruning
Other than removing yellowed or sear fronds during the growing season , and hit the previous year ’s leaf in the spring , maidenhair fern should not be pruned to uphold its natural looker .
Potting and Repotting Maidenhair Fern
Plant maidenhair fern in a container with large drain holes in well - drained potting grime . keep the grunge of potted maidenhair fern moist at all times is a must to retroflex the plant ’s instinctive habitat in humus - fat timberland .
Repotting is only advise when the roots fill up up the lot . you could either plant it in a large raft with fresh dirt or cut it into sections and repot those individually .
Pests and Problems
The most common pest problems with maidenhair fern fern , both indoors and outdoors , are aphids , plate , mites , and mealy bugs . outside , you might also find snail , and slug on the works .
In soil with poor drain , the fern can develop root guff .
How to Propagate Maidenhair Fern
All types of maidenhair ferns are quite vigorous and disperse by forked rootstalk beneath the soil . This makes it relatively easy to diffuse them by part rather than going through the protracted and finicky process of growing it from spore .
In the late leaping or other summer , dig up the entire root ball and cut it in one-half or quarters count on the sizing . Replant the section at the same depth as the original plant and backfill the planting hole with a commixture of soil and leafage mould . Keep it well watered ; some of the original fronds will pall off but you should see fresh growth within a few weeks .
Types of Maidenhair Fern
No matter which species you grow , all maidenhair ferns feature light green compound leaves made up of small leaflet . Several species and mixture bear new growth in pink or red that eventually ages to super acid . Most maidenhair ferns sport striking shining black leaf stalks ( petioles ) that stand out against all the light-green foliage .
Delta Maidenhair Fern
The Graeco-Roman maidenhair , Adiantum raddianum , is a tropic fern aboriginal to South America . It has delicate , drooping foliage and needs high humidity to survive . It is mostly grown as a houseplant but can be grown outdoors in zones 10 - 11 .
American Maidenhair Fern
Adiantum pedatumis native to North America and turn out upright black or chocolate-brown stubble with featherlike intermediate green frond . It grows 12 - 16 inches magniloquent . Zones 3 - 8 .
Northern Maidenhair fern
Adiantum pedatum aleuticum , at 30 inches marvellous , is larger than American maidenhair fern fern . It has black stem turn . newfangled ontogenesis may be tinged pink . Zones 3 - 8 .
Southern Maidenhair Fern
Adiantum capillus - venerushas sports fan - shaped cusp on fateful stems . It is hardy only in Zones 8 - 10 and remains evergreen down to about 28 degrees F.
Maidenhair Fern Companion Plants
Lungwort
In former spring , lungwort ’s brilliant blue-blooded , pinkish , or whiteflowers bloomdespite the cold chill . The rough basal leaves , spotted or manifest , are handsome through the season and into winter . Lungworts are workhorses and retain their safe looks , rate close as a weed - discouraging groundcover or in border as edgings or bright accent plants . Provide high - humus land that retains moisture , although lungwort bear dry term .
Hosta
One of themost ordinarily grown garden plantsfor a reason , this tough , shade - loving perennial is also among the easy plant to grow . Hostas change from midget plant life suitable for troughs or rock music garden to monolithic 4 - human foot clumps with heart - shaped leaves almost 2 feet recollective . The variations in leaf shapes and semblance are virtually endless and hostas in new size of it and touting new foliage feature article look each yr .
Corydalis
It ’s laborious to find undimmed - colored plants for shade , so it ’s a pathos thatbrightly color corydalisisn’t more widely planted . It ’s a with child shade plant . Blooms are pocket-size , but they seem in clusters . Leaves look standardized to those of a fringe - leaf bleeding heart . plant life self - seed readily , but surplus seedling are easy to remove . Provide the flora with moist , constituent soil for right growth .
Frequently Asked Questions
To determine the temperature tolerance spectrum of your fern you need to identify which type of maidenhair fern you have . The Adiantum genus comprises more than 200 species that vary greatly in dusty - hardiness depending on whether they are from a tropical or subtropical or a temperate climate .
Maidenhair fern do best in 60 % humidity and home surround are often too dry for this works . Growing this fern beneath a cloche orin a terrariummay solve the humidness trouble , as long as you keep the fern out of direct sun , which will result in overheating it . void siting the pot near warmth register , cooling vents , or in draughty areas .
The fern might be getting too much or too fiddling water , too much fertiliser , or the territory is too acidic . Adjust the amount of watering and back off on the fertilizer . If the job persists , you might need totest the soil pHto see if it is in the proper alkaline chain .
Rick Taylor.
update by Nadia Hassani
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