This plant works indoors or out , adding tropic dash wherever you lay it .
For decades , Boston ferns have been grow as a tropic emphasis plant both indoors and out . The robust plant life is often go out spill out of pedestal planter and hanging baskets , or lighten up up patio and shady garden spotlight with its refined , blade - work fronds .
In the state of nature , it thrives in pissed , forested areas , so — whether you are planting it indoors or outdoors — give it high humidity and consistent wet and it will reinforce you with longsighted arching stem of spring - green leafage .
Credit: William N. Hopkins
Where to Plant Boston Fern
In hardiness zone 9 to 11 , Boston ferns can be grown as perennials , but they ask sight of water system and are not drouth tolerant . In these zona , select a spot that is in full or fond spook where the fern will have protection from drying winds . These requirements are some of the ground why track patios are such popular situation to plant Boston ferns .
Outside of zones 9 to 11 , you may still grow Boston ferns , but you may have better luck growing it as a container plant that can be moved indoors when chilly weather ( 45 degrees Fahrenheit and below ) arrives .
When and How to Plant Boston Fern
If you plan to imbed your Boston fern outside , the best prison term to do it is in the outflow or drop ( Indoor Boston ferns can be planted any time of class . ) . Choose a smirch for your fern with moist , well - drain soil and mountain of shade . Dig a hole that is just about the same profundity and twice the breadth as the fern ’s nursery container , then place the fern in the basis and fill in the expanse with soil and a bit of constitutive compost . you could also add together mulch around the bag of the plant to help keep the dirt moist and make a more humid environment for the install industrial plant .
Boston Fern Care
Boston ferns are comparatively gentle to turn as long as you stay on on top of three matter — wet , sunshine , and temperature control . Like most ferns , Boston fern needshigh humidity to thrive . Outdoor fern will want shade , temperature between 65- and 75 degrees Fahrenheit , and veritable watering to keep the soil consistently moist .
For indoor ferns , place your industrial plant in indirect sunlight , mist over it regularly , and define it on a tray of pissed pebbles to create a humid air . If you ignore the works ’s need for humidness , you are likely to end up sweeping up pocket-sized chocolate-brown leaflets shed by a struggling flora .
Light
When arise Boston fern as a houseplant , locate it in shiny , indirect light ( like an east - facing windowpane ) and give the pot a act every now and then to guarantee even growth . When grow in too much shade , a industrial plant ’s frond will become dull and thin . Too much sun , though , and frondswill burn .
When grow Boston fern outside , make certain your industrial plant is sheltered from verbatim sun and strong steer . As cool weather access , many Boston fern growers pick out to contribute their container - grown ferns indoors for the winter .
Soil and Water
Boston ferns love moist , well - draining soil with a pH of 5 to 5.5 , so keep your fern ’s soil ( ideally a peaty , soil - found potting admixture ) consistently moist at all times . If the soil dries out , the flora will crinkle up and degenerate many of its foliage .
Temperature and Humidity
Indoor temperatures typically suit the Boston fern — which thrive between 60 and 75 arcdegree Fahrenheit — just fine . As cool weather approach path , many Boston fern agriculturalist choose to bring their out-of-door container - grown fern indoors for the winter .
The most finicky matter about a Boston fern is its motive for humidity — ideally levels above 80 percentage . If you do n’t require to experience in a tropical glasshouse , you may keep the plant life well-chosen by on a regular basis misting it and setting it on a tray of gravel or pebbles . This will allow the wet to evaporate into the atmosphere around the flora without the danger of it get its foot too tight .
Fertilizer
Boston ferns can benefit from some fertilization , and if you find wan or yellowing leaves on your fern , it may crave some food . Feed the plant with a water - soluble fertiliser every 4 to 6 weeks in the outflow and summertime ( or more often if the plant ask it ) . Fertilization is not typically needed in the fall and winter month . Fertilize potted fern with a houseplant formula at half - strong point every month from spring to former fall .
Pruning
The Boston fern ’s foliage comprise of legion small-scale brochure that , if allowed to dry out , fall off and leave stringy stems behind . If your Boston fern loses fortune of its foliage , cut it back to about 2 inches in the leaping and it will finally rectify to imprint a lush flora . Spring is also the good time to divide your Boston fern .
Potting and Repotting
When constitute nursery starts , choose a corporation that is big enough to allow elbow room for increment , but not so large that the flora expends all its push growing roots instead of foliage . A too - big pot also runs the risk of develop root rot since the plant will be too pocket-size to soak up all the moisture allow in the grime after watering .
After you have take a slew , post some crushed rock in the bottom of the potful for drain and partially fill it with a peat - found potting admixture that contains perlite for added drainage . Tease the beginning ball apart so that the roots can circulate to the edge of the container and place the plant life in the pot . Fill in the pot with potting mix ( do not pile it ) and thoroughly water .
When transplanting or dividing your Boston fern , it ’s all right to use a fiddling force to get the flora ’s roots dislodged from its container . It ’s vulgar for ferns to grow a little root - bound in container . Water the plant first to make it more malleable and then wrap your fingers around the foundation of the fronds , invert the industrial plant , and wiggle or solicit the container against a hard surface until the works come free .
Credit: William N. Hopkins
Pests and Problems
Boston ferns that are farm outside can fall victim tomealybugs , wanderer mites , and whitefly . The juicy fleeceable leaves of the Boston fern are also a popular snack for snails , slugs , and caterpillars .
For both indoor and outdoor Boston fern , blight and origin rot can be a problem . Blight fungus may present as gloomy browned spots on the leaf , treetop , and roots , but the trouble lives in the grunge . If this chance with a potted Boston fern , repot the plant in a sterilized pot with some fresh potting mix .
Root rot can develop if the filth persist too wet for too long . If stem rot occurs with a potted fern , take your flora out of its container , repot it in a uninventive container , and toss away the diseased soil . If beginning rotdevelops on an out-of-door fern , take steps to meliorate the grunge with constituent topic to aid it debilitate more freely . you’re able to prove divide the industrial plant , discarding the diseased subdivision , and replanting the healthier sections in a dissimilar location .
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
Propagation
One of the best ways to propagate Boston ferns is through partition — which is best done in the natural spring . This will also prevent your fern from spring up tooroot - restrict . To divide your plant , remove the root ball from the territory and split it into two to four contribution while keep as many leave-taking entire as possible . Replant the divided ferns and water system good .
Types of Boston Fern
you’re able to find this plant in promising Au and a green - and - Au variegate variety , as well as with curly , wavy , perverted , loll , and overlapping frond . Some Boston ferns feature finely dissect leaflet that create a lax and airy feel .
Boston Fern
Nephrolepis exaltata’Bostoniensis ' is the received eccentric , grown as an refined houseplant since Victorian times .
‘Dallas’ Fern
This variety ofNephrolepis exaltatawas developed to brook lower light and dry air conditions than the vulgar Boston fern . It is a stocky flora , with frond only about half the length of the mintage .
‘Fluffy Ruffles’ Fern
This smaller sort ofNephrolepis exaltatahas fine divided curled fronds .
‘Kimberly Queen’ Fern
Nephrolepis obliteratais a tight touch species that is less sensitive to abject humidity , so it make up well in average room shape .
Tiger Fern
This type is a motley Boston fern with erratically marbled foliage in Au and green . This sort has expectant leave that can get quite long .
‘Rita’s Gold’ Fern
Nephrolepis exaltata’Rita ’s Gold ' is a lovely assortment with stunning golden foliage that is especially brilliant on new growth .
Companion Plants for Boston Fern
It can be cunning to find companion plant for fern chip in their preference for shady , dampish raise conditions . Look to the places where Boston fern maturate wild for clues about plants that will flourish in standardized conditions and choose for plants that also crave eminent levels of humidity , nuance , and rain .
Bleeding Heart
bleed Heartplants are native to the shady woodland surroundings of the easterly United States and savour standardized growing condition to the Boston fern . Most bleeding fondness type grow easy in zones 3 to 9 , but to plant them alongside Boston fern , appear for cultivars that can manage warmer climates , such as theDicentra spectabilis’Gold Heart ' or theDicentra cucullaria‘Dutchman’sbreeches ’ bleed heart .
Browallia
The shade - lovingbrowallia — which is most often grown as an annual — can be grown as a tropical perennial in zones 10 or 11 . It prefers full to partial shadiness and moist , well - draining grunge like the Boston fern . When browallia flowers , it produces bright blue , purple , or white blooming amid tidy mounds of green foliage
Caladium
The tropicalcaladiumgrows well in dappled shade where the shining Lord’s Day wo n’t singe their vibrantleaves . They typically grow to about 6 to 12 inches in height and can get as wide as 24 inch across .
Impatiens
Impatiensare pretty shade - garden annuals that bloom in volley of blue , orange , pink , purple , red , white , or yellow . They make an first-class makeweight for garden beds and will thrive in full-bodied , well - drained ground — particularly in climate where the temperature remain between 60 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit .
Frequently Asked Questions
The Boston fern was strike among a despatch of 200 plants that were send from Philadelphia , Pennsylvania in the 1890s to a florist named F. C. Becker in Boston — or more specifically , Cambridge , Massachusetts . Becker was impressed with the flora ’s uniquely wide , arching fronds — not to bring up its power to grow quicker than other types of fern . In 1894 , Becker start to propagate the plant , and two year later , botanist in London identified it and open it a name , N. exaltatacv . ' Bostoniensis ' . The plant life soon surged in popularity .
Boston ferns reproduce through rows of sori ( or spore ) on the undersides of their frond . The plant life sends out long runners ( little leafless stem known as runner ) which can root to form raw plant where they touch the ground . While Boston ferns can be propagated via the spore or runners , the resulting flora may not originate dependable to the parent plant . The serious mode to replicate a Boston fern is through division .
Boston ferns are not toxic to click , computed axial tomography , or man — but , for the health of the plant life , it ’s believably in force to keep your fern out of grasp from nibble mouths or digging paw . Other fern that arenon - toxic to small pets(like computed axial tomography and dogs ) let in maidenhair fern fern , carrot fern , staghorn fern , holly fern , and release fern . This is not true of all plant with “ fern ” in the deed of conveyance , however , so check with your local experts or theASPCAbefore bringing one into your home . Theasparagus fern , for example , is not a true fern , and ( as a member of the lily family ) , it is considered toxic to andiron and computed axial tomography .
Credit: Jay Wilde
Plant of the week . Fern , Boston . ( n.d . ) . University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture . https://www.uaex.uada.edu/yard-garden/resource-library/plant-week/boston-fern-11-18-05.aspx
Boston Fern , genus Nephrolepis exaltata ‘ bostoniensis . ’Master Gardener Program – University of Wisconsin – Extension .
Toxic and non - toxic Plant List - dogs . ASPCA .
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Toxic and non - toxic Plant List - cats . ASPCA .
Asparagus densiflorus ( Sprengeri Group).North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox . ( n.d . ) .
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Credit: Randall Schieber
Dean Schoeppner.
Credit: Photo by: Ralph Anderson
Jason Wilde.
