What Is Fern – How Often Should You Water A Fern – Watering Indoor Ferns – Fern Varieties – Watering Outdoors Fern – Best Soil – Avoiding Overwatering – Planting New Ferns – Avoiding Issues – FAQ
The fern plant might not be the most popular type of houseplant to keep at home, but despite that it is a great addition if you want something kinda wild looking. There are so many different varieties of ferns out there, all with their own special look to them.
It’s a hardy plant that can manage in both dry and wet climates, cold or warm temperatures. It’s an all around really great houseplant to have if you want something low maintenance and low risk of running into issues with. As for water, we often do this once a week at least, but doing it twice won’t kill the plant.
What Is A Fern
The fern family is very large and there is more or less a variety for everyone out there to choose from. They are a hardy family of plants that can manage fine without water for several days or in cold and warm temperatures too.
Planting one home is often done in a south facing window where the plant can get a lot of sunlight each day and continue to grow and prosper. Try to fertilize the soil also every now and again.
We often do this about once a month or so. That way we can keep the plant’s growth in line with what it naturally should be. Anymore and you might instead risk the plant starting to turn yellow from the soil being to low in pH and over fertilized.
How Often Should You Water A Fern
Like we have mentioned here before, the fern will need to be watered about once a week or so. You don’t have to worry about doing it anymore than that. Either you water a little bit each day or about 1 gallon once a week for a full grown and large fern plant.
This means keeping a fern is a very easy job to do. Its self reliant and can manage without water for at least 2 weeks or so in total. But watering will also depend on the type of soil that you are growing it in. If you have a clay soil then you might need to water slightly more as the water will have an easier time escaping. But if you have regular soil then you can water as normally since that will keep the water in there a lot better.
Water A Fern Plant Indoors
Watering a fern indoors will be much the same as outdoors. The plant can manage fine with water about once a week or so. That will be plenty enough. Since we have already praised the plant for the sturdiness and hardness of it, you might guess that it indoros will be fine without water for a few weeks.
Just have a look at the soil before you add any more water. If the soil is already really damp and almost mud-like, then adding more water might cause the roots to drown instead as oxygen cant reach them. moderation really is the key when watering ferns, or any plant for that matter.
Fern Plant Varieties
Let’s look at some of the different varieties of fern out there. They all grow slightly different but are great starter plants for beginners. Low maintenance and low risk for diseases and pests.
Boston Fern
The boston fern is perhaps one of the hardiest varieties of fern. If you are keeping it in direct light for at least 8 – 10 hours each day then you might need to water once a week at least. All in order to keep the plant in a good state. It manages fine with direct and bright light.
Asparagus Fern
The asparagus fern has quite thin and small leaves. That means there is less water being used. We therefore recommend you to be careful with watering as the plant won’t be able to use up as much of it as other varieties.
Staghorn Fern
The staghorn as opposed to the other varieties has much larger leaves and a relatively compact root system that doesn’t really spread out that much. If you are keeping it indoors and the air is dry then it might actually need daily watering as the plant will use up quite large amounts of water.
Maidenhair Fern
The leaves on the maidenhair are pretty small but the density of leaves will be much higher than the other varieties we have discussed already. Since we started growing this plant we have noticed that awatering about every 7 – 10 days or so will be plenty enough.
Birds Nest Fern
This variety is a little bit different from other ones, it will actually prefer a more humid environment instead. In a humid environment, like down in Florida this plant can manage fiend without water for a week at last.
Lemon Button Fern
The lemon button is just like other varieties, it likes to get a lot of water. Try to do it about once a day or every other day. This will be especially important if you are growing the plant in a small pot where there is not a lot of soil to hold water.
Kimberly Queen Fern
The kimberly queen fern is a great option to grow in clay soil for example. It requires a pretty standard watering schedule of once a week or so. But just like always, it’s important to look at the soil beforehand to avoid overwatering and harming the roots.
Watering A Fern Outside
Watering a fern outside is thankfully very similar to indoors. You need to get down on your knees and look at the soil before adding any more water. We are persistent with mentioning this step because it’s a great prevention for accidentally overwatering a plant.
But outdoors, the fern plants will need watering about once a week or so, just like the ones indoros. You can water in quite large amounts too.
Best Soil For Fern
The best soil for fern seems to be a mix between sand and clay. This is a soil that can maintain the water quite well, which makes it easier for the plant to go long times without a lot of water.
It might be hard to grow like this outdoors and find the right soil. But indoors in a pot then you can definitely try this combination of soils and reap the rewards by having a very happy fern plant.
How To Avoid Overwatering A Fern
The best of avoiding to overwatering a fern plant is to first look at the soil beforehand. This will give you a good idea of the state of the soil that the plant is growing in. If you notice it has a rather damp and almost muddy texture, then you can probably hold off watering for a few days before checking again.
A common occurrence when you have overwatered is that the leaves will begin to turn black as the roots are dying from drowning and lack of oxygen.
Planting New Fern Plants
Planting a new fern is very easy. If it has already developed a good root system then you will most likely not run into any issues when transplanting it. It might be a bit hanging and slacking the first days as it is getting used to the new environment.
But keeping the soil slightly damp and in a well lit place you shouldn’t run into any more issues.
Avoiding Issues
The family of fern plants are generally very hardy and will endure during times of warm or cold temperatures. But a good rule of thumb is trying to keep it in a south facing spot where it can get sufficient amounts of sunlight. Try and keep the water slightly damp all the time as well. That way the roots will have an easy time growing and expanding.
FAQ
How Often Should You Water Ferns In The Summer
In the summer you should definitely be checking your fern plant about every other day. It might actually need to water every other day as well, depending on the variety you are growing. A good rule is to keep the soil slightly damp all the time.
Do Ferns Need A Lot Of Sun
They won’t require a lot of sun, but we have notice we run into less issues if we can get our plant a lot of sun during the day, at last when growing indoors.
How Often Should You Water Ferns Indoors
Watering a fern indoors is often done every week at last. But you might need to do it more during the summer if the air is very dry and water will disappear more quickly, or the plant is using more than normal.
