No plants give the good 'lush' feeling that ferns do. Their fresh green color reminds us of a lush and moist forest.
Ferns can be grown alone in pots, but they are an important part when decorating moist terrariums or if you are going to create a vertical garden. They are also good for use in joint plantings with larger plants.
Light: Most ferns do not require a lot of light. They tolerate low light intensity. With increased light intensity, one should pay more attention to watering.
Substrate/Soil: Ferns thrive best in acidic soil . Epiphytic ferns (which grow on top of trees) can be grown mounted on e.g. cork bark or lava rock which will require watering every day. But even these ferns can be grown in pots with suitable substrate. For epiphytic ferns, I would recommend a mixture of bark or coconut chips with peat moss .
Temperature: The temperature varies from species to species, but most tropical ferns tolerate normal room temperature just fine. They can be successfully grown outside in the shade in the summer.
Watering: Ferns love water! They are well suited to be grown in self-watering pots or on self-watering trays . Otherwise, care should be taken that the soil for the ferns never dries up completely. They can be watered either by drawing water from the bottom or in the shower so that it flows well through the soil.
Fertilisation: It is recommended to use a weak fertilizer solution (about a third of the strength) of complete fertilizer about every third watering all year round.
Repotting: The plants can be repotted when they have grown too big for their pot or when the soil is in too poor a condition. Repotting should take place in the months of February-September.
Propagation: Most ferns can be propagated by dividing them from the root. Ferns have spores on the underside of their leaves that can mimic dust grains. These can be transported with the air current and if they land in a favorable place they will then sprout into new ferns.
Pests: Like all other plants, ferns can be attacked by pests. The most common are thrips, lice and aphids. These can be combated with neem oil . Recommended treatment with a solution of neem oil and green soap 2-3 times at 5-7 day intervals. As a preventive measure, you can spray the plants with the same solution approximately every 3 weeks.
