Maidenhair Ferns

I really love maiden hair ferns. I first learned about them when I was looking a wedding floral arrangements. I found a tiny potted fern used on the reception dinner tables that I loved.

I had never owned one until I found them at a local garden shop (The Greenery). It was not expensive, so I purchased it.

I never had my maidenhairs last more than a year. They’d get pretty frail looking and I didn’t have the knowledge to bring them back. And actually, I have discovered that by the time they show signs of distress, it is almost too late to correct it. These plants are finicky and need constant attention.

I’ve had some really large ones that have done well. 

A coworker of mine said that she only has luck with maidenhair’s when they are planted with something else. I haven’t tried that yet. I love them so much by themselves, but I also like them in groupings. But whatever they are grouped with needs to love water as much as they do.

I bought a maiden hair fern for my desk at work. I transported it home on the weekends.

During one of the transports, the fern fell over. Because of the frail stems, the majority of the stems snapped and died. So, I stopped transporting the fern home on the weekends and would give it a heavy water on Friday to help it last through the weekend. I have been working on getting new growth, but was having issues. I would see new growth start, but by the time it got 2-3 inches long, it would dry out, shrivel up and die (just the new growth). I took the maidenhair home to see what I could do. I watered it every day (a lot) and noticed the new growth lasting longer than before. My guess was that the weekends without water were drying up my new growth. But I’ve come to a new conclusion that it was also due to the lack of light. They were only getting fluorescent light and that was not enough.

Now, the pot I have my maiden hair fern in has no drainage holes. I heavily water the fern in the morning and then about lunchtime, I turn the plant, in its pot upside down, to drain the excess water out of the pot. These ferns love water, but they don’t like to sit in it.

I have not yet fertilized my ferns. I am too scared. One time, I repotted a fern and within 2 days it was dead. I attributed it to the new potting soil that already had fertilizer in it. Which could have been part of the case, but I think I just didn’t water the new soil well enough during those days with new soil. The new soil was dry and these ferns like to be surrounded with moisture. I actually kept the new fern in the original disposable pot it came in because I was fearful of exposing it to new soil and it dying. But when I was having trouble with the new growth, I decided to officially transplant it into a new pot and I made sure to get the new soil good and wet. The fern survived!

 

I have two maidenhair ferns in the house and they look completely different. One is fuller and has stems coming from all over the pot. Its color is a lighter green.

The one I keep at work is a darker green and the stems are coming from the center of the pot only. 

It use to not be as dark in color, but I think that is because of the lack of sun it gets at my desk. There are no windows at my desk. 

I have decided to keep my work fern at home and keep it in the windowsill. You can see the new growth coming in and staying!

I also have a different maidenhair. I was told it was a “Silver Dollar MaidenHair fern.” I found it by chance once and loved it. I don’t remember what happened to it, but I wanted another one. They are hard to find. 

It wasn’t until someone told me the Brooks and Collier (a local shop) had plants! I thought they were a furniture only store, but they have a beautiful greenhouse. It is where I found the rubber plants that I use at the clubhouse!  It was while I was browsing that I saw their huge assortment of ferns and saw the silver dollar maidenhair! I was in heaven. I bought one and Mom bought one. I placed mine on the piano, and hers stays in her room.

The silver dollar maiden hair requires the same care as the normal maidenhair. A maidenhair fern can handle watering every-other-day, but for its best performance, it needs it every day. 

I think I have finally found out how to take care of the maiden hair fern. It takes daily watering, good drainage and indirect light. Seriously, it likes to be wet. I just use the sink’s spray nozzle and water it every morning. For the ferns in other spots, I keep a water bottle in my vanity and use it to water the ferns. 

I also noticed that my maidenhairs do best in the breakfast nook of both of my houses. They like the light from all the windows. It also did well in my bathroom due to the moisture from showers. 

Best of luck to you in owning a maidenhair. They are diva's but they are so worth it!