Monday, January 29, 2024

Indoor Ferns; rambling thoughts on a book and houseferns

I purchased the book Indoor Ferns, by Boy Altman (1998) last March after it was mentioned during a Hardy Fern Foundation Webinar. I finally got around to reading it last weekend.

From the back cover: "Indoor Ferns tells you how to keep tropical and sub-tropical ferns growing in peak condition. Unlike flowering plants, ferns have to reply on their "personalities" and the beauty of their fronds to win admiration." ah yes, their personalities!

I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but I definitely wasn't expecting it to be so sassy: "Do you recognize this still life? There is a good chance that you do, since 95% of all indoor ferns look like this within a few months to a year. These three ferns come from different rooms in the house and their owners had no idea what else they could have done to please the ferns. It was simply ignorance: all the ferns shown here are epiphytes and a plastic post is the last place to put an epiphyte. Ferns are not all the same"

On epiphytes: "You really should not even try to keep an epiphytic fern in a plastic  pot with ordinary compost. In order to understand this, you need to know what an epiphyte is. Epiphytes, like some orchids, bromeliads, tilansias [sic] and a large number of ferns, are plants which get their nutrition from a host, usually a tree. In a shaded spot they easily survive on nutrients which are washed down from the tree tops by the tropical rains. On p. 21 [below] you can see a Polypodium aureum on its host, Butia comata, a Brazilian palm. Epiphyte ferns include Platyceriums, Aspleniums, most Nephrolepis varieties and Polypodiums." There have obviously been some name changes since this book was published in 1998, I chose to leave them as written.

This drilled terracotta pot was suggested as an alternative to the plastic, allowing air to reach the roots.

The book is about much more than epiphytic ferns, including an A-Z of the fern family with lots of info and thoughts on care. A couple other quotes from the book: "if the plant behaves strangely in the first few months, do not get out the rubbish bag immediately. Give it a chance to adapt to the new conditions. Sometimes it takes a year before a fern has completely adapted. Do not keep putting the fern in a different place each time. If you discover after a few weeks that it looks better on that coffee table than beside your bookshelf, it is better to move the furniture around-it is less likely to die." A year!?! Move the furniture!?!

"Ferns hate being shifted from pillar to post; make sure that they are always kept in the same, light spot. Hanging ferns in the hall or in the middle of the room, as you see in films, is madness. They are put there for a moment to make a pretty shot, but it is not a representation of reality, unless growing lamps are hung above them. This special lighting more or less replaces the sun and also looks very decorative." All righty!

There is an almost 2-page section devoted to how to sprinkle and spray your ferns. If I were the type to take everything I read to heart these directions alone would keep me from ever growing a fern indoors. 

On that note I thought I'd share photos of the ferns I am growing, indoors. These first few were featured in the mantel post I did back on Jan 8th, guess what! They're still alive. Pteris cretica in the tall planter and Pteris quadriaurita 'Tricolor' on the right.

'Tricolor' has lost it's color. The book says that's because only the new fronds are colorful and they all eventually fade. I suspect light has something to do with it as well. Once spring rolls around it will vacation outdoors and hopefully the color will return.


The crocodile fern, Microsorium musifolium 'Crocydyllus' is also still alive—many of you reported this one was short lived. 

This Microgramma vacciniifolia on a stick hangs in our shower, it's the only houseplant fern I've had for years.

I bought a second Microgramma vacciniifolia at Lotusland, it's currently hanging out in the basement. I look forward to doing something creative with it this spring.

The basement, with it's cooler temperatures, higher light levels (at least in the winter), and higher humidity, is a much easier place to keep ferns alive. Of course once the weather warms these will all transition back outdoors. Here's one of my several bean ferns, Lemmaphyllum microphyllum.  

This one is growing on a piece of bark with moss, although it's been so long since I've lifted it off the ceramic leaf it's on, I have no idea how much of the bark is still there. 

Aglaomorpha coronans, one of the basket ferns. I am thrilled to have kept this one alive for a year and a half.

Side view, of Aglaomorpha coronans.

This little button fern, Pellaea rotundifolia is a thirsty thing.

More times than I care to admit I've discovered it starting to shrivel up, thankfully it responds well to a drenching.

I shared the making of this hanging business last summer, because of the cryptanthus (only Zone 10 hardy) it had to be brought indoors for the winter.  

I've not done well with pyrrosia indoors, but so far it's doing fine (this is P. lingua). I am sure to give it a good soak once a week or so.

More ferns on sticks (from Andy's Orchids), these are Pyrrosia nummularifolia (the little leaves).

The Brazilian tree fern (Blechnum Brasiliense) I brought home from my visit to Little Prince is not loving the basement garden conditions and my occasional lack of watering.

Poor thing.

Elaphoglossum metallicum, an iridescent fern from Peru (mine came from a friend up in Seattle).

I have four common staghorn ferns (Platycerium bifurcatum) happily over-wintering in the basement.

Finally, I recently added a Platycerium grande to the mix. My previous efforts to mount one of these myself failed miserably, so I broke down and bought one already (uncreatively) mounted on a slab of wood and now hanging on the wall above our washing machine. I'm scheming on ways to disguise the wood.

As I was reading the book I kept thinking of the indoor fern craze of the 1970's, how did people keep those ferns happy indoors? Especially the ones in restaurants and fern bars? Do you successfully grow ferns indoors? What's your secret?

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25 comments:

  1. I think you could write an update of that book on ferns, Loree. I've never had much luck growing them indoors or out. I tried a variety of them early on in my lath house but most were unhappy; however, I admit that I probably should have given more thought to how they were planted. I love your crocodile fern, as well as the iridescent fern.

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    1. Oh definitely not! I am not successful with indoor ferns. I fear that point was muddied with the fact I shared photos of the winter prisoners. I have killed so many ferns that I intended to grow as houseplants.

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  2. You definitely don't strike me as someone who'd move the furniture to accommodate ferns. Yours seem to handle well the migration from and to the garden every year, while I have a hard time keeping a small number of Tillandsia alive...
    I have a collection of Sansevieria, which requires little of me, and a couple of Hoya: a sentimental purchase. They'd better bloom soon or our love affair will end abruptly.
    Pyrrosia nummularifolia 'fern-on-a-stick' is adorable! I could be tempted to adopt one just like it.
    Chavli

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    1. You should check on the offerings at Andy's Orchids during the NWFG Fest, that's where the Pyrrosia nummularifolia came from.

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    2. Oh, thanks, Loree.
      I usually skip the Orchids, but I'll check Andy's booth: this baby Pyrrosia is worth my effort.

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  3. You have a fine collection of ferns and they look great, so you must be doing them right. The book might aimed at the less experienced grower?

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    1. Thanks, but I am no good at keeping a fern alive as a houseplant. As I mentioned to Kris (above) I fear that point was muddied with the fact I shared photos of the winter prisoners. The only chance I have at fern success is sending them outside for the summer.

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  4. It's a bit ironic to see this post today as I just accidentally killed off the "Fluffy Ruffles" fern (variety of Boston fern) that I inherited 10 years ago. That one liked to dry out a bit between watering. I may get another one. However, in the last year I've also killed an antenna fern, a hearts leaf fern and at least two others whose names I've blocked from my memory. I'm beginning to suspect my tap water is too hard for some of them. I had a lovely asplenium fern for a while until it got scale and it didn't respond well, so I pitched it. I also have a terrarium with ferns that's doing ok but needs a refresh this year when I get to it. I've got a few in some protected outdoor planters that I'm afraid just got killed off in the cold. I'm not letting myself look too closely yet-they're in a pop up tent. (LPP has one z9 fern mislabeled as z6- that one isn't my fault!) One challenging thing about ferns is how similar hardy and non-hardy ferns can look to each other. I've gotten various maidenhair ferns mixed up once or twice. I successfully wintered over a fully hardy one in my garage one year....😄
    It's funny, I've been on a read older garden books thing the last year or so. (I get them very cheaply online). Some I've gotten to read the classics I hadn't gotten around to, some just looked interesting. Read some great books, learned a few things, but I've found some advice just doesn't age well. (I've been shocked how proudly some very famous gardeners boasted about their profligate use of glyphosate even next to a wetland- in later books some recanted, but anyway). We've learned a lot more about plants in the last 25 years.

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    1. Oh no! I had a great variegated version of a Boston Fern (from a friend) that I killed, my antenna fern lasted about a week--and I can't blame our water. I feel your pain! Older books can be great fun, but yes... also a little out of date with some of their information. Have fun with the terrarium redo!

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  5. I'm not good with houseplants but especially ferns.

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    1. Well you certainly make up for it with your plants in the garden!

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  6. Wow, your indoor ferns look great! You're an expert (I'm not surprised). Thanks for sharing the book title, excerpts, and ideas. Very thought-provoking...

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    1. Oh no, I am not! The death-list is long. The only ones that do well are the ones that go outdoors for the summer.

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  7. I do love ferns. I have a Rabbits Foot fern Davallia solida var. fejeensis that is quite old. I have given pieces of it away most years. Several years ago I planted it into a 12" tall strawberry pot that I couldn't grow anything in and the RF fern has taken over the pot. I planted the fern in the middle top hole and over a few short years it has sent its' furry little feet through to the side pockets of the pot. I set out the fern during summer. One summer i had it sitting on the patio and a young rabbit ate all the pocket plants greenery. It took all summer for the fern to recover. I was happy it wasn't dead.
    My other indoor fern is a common Staghorn fern . I have it mounted in the skeleton of an outdoor clock frame. I put cork where the clock works were and surrounded the fern with fake moss. I can't seem to keep moss alive.
    Both ferns get a weekly shower and if I capture enough rain water I give them a shower with rain water.
    I have read a lot about ferns. It is fun to see all your ferns and the creative ways you use them.

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    1. Hmm, a rabbit ate your rabbit's foot fern? But that's cannibalism! Sounds lovely in the strawberry pot though, I'm glad it rebounded. I should collect some rainwater for my indoor prisoners, thanks for the idea!

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  8. I’ve not tried many ferns as house plants but fell in love with Phlebodium aureum after visiting the Spheres years ago. Had to have it. I’ve managed to keep two of them alive and growing since before Covid. They are not as robust as they could be with optimal growing conditions but they don’t look bad. They do have cool rhizomes that want to crawl out of the pots. Confession, I've never looked up care and feeding of this plant until today. I see photos of massive fronds in small pots and wonder just how do they do that. I’m always afraid of killing plants with kindness so I’ve pretty much just watered them when they are dry. Loved your blog today. It makes me want to try more ferns indoor since rabbits have been demolishing my outdoor ferns. Mary P

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    1. Damn rabbits! I have a gorgeous Phlebodium aureum that spends winter in the SP Greenhouse, which at times hovers around 30F, it's plenty happy. I'm afraid to being it indoors simply because the gardener friend who gave it to me always left it on her back patio.

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  9. Your ferns are looking PRIME. You must be constantly moving furniture around to keep them happy! That crocodile fern is studly. Your platycerium grande will cover that wood all by himself in no time.

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    1. Ha! Can you imagine? Honey why is the sofa on the other side of the room?

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  10. They're not ferns, but asparagus ferns and ming asparagus ferns can work better for some

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    1. I remember my mom had several of these back in the day.

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  11. I don’t grow ferns indoors now, but in my younger years I worked as a plant care person in Washington DC, where I serviced a number of restaurants and bars. I can’t tell you the number of ferns I had to take care of that were actually in fern bars! Many of them were directly above the dining tables and deuces in the bars and restaurants. What a mess they made all over the tables, and needless to say, with the low lighting, I had to replace a lot of them regularly.

    -Jane/MulchMaid

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    1. I did not know about this part of your past Jane!

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  12. Boy oh Boy Altman, are his (assuming male) qualifications listed anywhere on the book? Seems like one of the older writers who makes growing plants seem more difficult than it really is. I remember older books with instructions something like - "you must use deionized water with a 0.012 molar nitrogen concentration to spritz your plants at least five times per day in ten second bursts to maintain humidity at precisely 75.5%. Any less, your plant will die. Any more, your plant will die." Too hyperbolic and not grounded in reality. I remember being incredulous as a ten-year-old kid, trying all these hard-to-grow plants, and finding them incredibly easy and nowhere near as difficult as certain writers made them out to be. It always made me wonder whether they had even grown the plants that they were talking about.

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    1. Nope, no qualifications other than "he has become an expert"... ha. Definitely makes it more difficult than it needs to be and your spritzing instructions could have been pulled from the book.

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