Bird’s Nest Fern; How to care for this low maintenance Fern
The Bird’s Nest Fern is a striking low maintenance Fern that is actually quite easy to grow indoors.
Native to tropical Southeastern Asia, Eastern Australia, Hawaii, Polynesia, Christmas Island, India, and Eastern Africa, the Nidus Asplenium is an epiphytic plant.
As an epiphytes, it grows on other plants in its natural habitat, obtaining nutrients from the surrounding air, water, rain, and whatever medium it accumulates around it.
The crinkled and wavy fronds of the Bird’s Nest Fern originate from a central rosette, that resembles a bird’s nest, (hence the common name for this plant).
The new fronds unfurling from the rosette are quite delicate and it is best to not touch them. Touching them can actually damage and deform the fronds.
There are only three types of Ferns that can thrive in my home, and the Bird’s Nest Fern is one of them!
I don’t find it as finicky as other Ferns can be….
It is worth mentioning that the Bird’s Nest Fern is a non-toxic houseplant safe for children and pets.
Let’s now take a look at how to care for this beautiful plant.
light
While the Bird’s Nest Fern can do well in moderate light conditions, it definitely thrives in bright, indirect light environments, provided that it’s not exposed to full sun!
The brighter the light, the wavier and crinkled its leaves become. On the other hand, less light will make its leaves flat.
Make sure that even the bright light is indirect light, as full sun will scorch its leaves and eventually kill the plant.
This is my Bird’s Nest Fern when I first bought it, and it was still a small plant in a 4″ pot. You can see how the leaves unfurl from the centre of the plant.
humitidy & temperature
Like all other Ferns and plants native to the tropical regions, the Bird’s Nest Fern loves high humidity.
However, this type of Fern is definitely better than others, (Boston and Maidenhair to name a few), at adapting to the average home humidity levels.
There are a few ways to increase humidity levels around your plants;
- Grouping your plants by species. Grouping plants together will help them raise the surrounding humidity levels.
- Misting your plants. I mist all those plants that thrive in high humidity with distilled water. Our tap water is really hard, so I want to avoid any calcium deposits on the leaves. In order to make misting effective, make sure that the water droplets actually fall into the top soil, and not just on the leaves.
- Using a tray filled with pebbles and water. Filling a saucer with small pebbles and adding water so that it barely reaches the top surface of the pebbles, helping maintaining higher levels of humidity around the plant. However, it is important that the bottom of the pot is not submerged in water with the roots stagnating in it. This will cause root rot in the long term.
- Using a Plant Mister.
For my Bird’s Nest Fern, I combine these first 3 strategies; I group it with other plants, I mist it a couple of times per week, and I keep its pot on a pebble tray filled with water.
As far as temperature goes, this plant is comfortable if you feel comfortable.
It is best to keep it away from drafts, both hot and cold.
My Bird’s Nest Fern three years and three pots later!
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Do you constantly feel overwhelmed and anxious?
Do you believe in the healing power of nature?
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helps you reduce your anxiety.
Water & fertilizing
Consistency is important when it comes to watering your Bird’s Nest Fern.
This is one of those plants I actually water on schedule.
The trick is to maintain the soil consistently moist but not too soggy. Your best gauge is your finger! Stick your finger in the soil and when you feel the the top 1″ dry it’s time to water your Fern.
Make sure you pour water over the soil around the plant, and not directly on the central rosette, (the Nest). Water in the rosette can cause mould growth and rot.
As a reference, I water my big Bird’s Nest Fern once a week. I water it until I see the water drain through its drainage hole and reach the top surface of the pebbles in the tray.
It is critical that this plant is planted in a pot with drainage holes. A pot without drainage holes, even with draining layers, won’t work for this plant.
I fertilize my Fern once a month with a liquid plant food from Spring to Fall.
Hey Plant Loving Woman!
Are you a middle age mom?
Do you constantly feel overwhelmed and anxious?
Do you believe in the healing power of nature?
To reveal your #1 Personal Houseplant that best
helps you reduce your anxiety.
repotting
The Bird’s Nest Fern doesn’t need to be repotted every year, even if it grows fast.
As an epiphytes, this plant has adapted to grow with a limited amount of media.
Most of the time, you’ll need to repot your Fern because the plant is too big and it topples over its side due to its imbalance of fronds weight vs. pot, or because the soil has depleted its nutrients.
I actually recommend you repot all your plants once a year in Spring, even when they don’t need to be moved to a bigger pot.
Replacing the nutrients depleted soil once a year is a good practice. It will also give you a chance to inspect roots and soil for pests and diseases.
When your Bird’s Nest Fern has become too big for its pot, move it into a terracotta pot, maximum two size bigger than its current one, (i.e. if your Bird’s Nest Fern is currently in a 4″ pot, move it into a 6″ pot).
For more details on repotting houseplants, read this great article!
And remember, if you want your Bird’s Nest Fern to be healthy, your pot needs to have drainage holes!
Here’s my Bird’s Nest Fern sitting on top of its pebble tray filled with water.
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Hey Plant Loving Woman!
Are you a middle age mom?
Do you constantly feel overwhelmed and anxious?
Do you believe in the healing power of nature?
To reveal your #1 Personal Houseplant that best
helps you reduce your anxiety.