Plant Care Guides / Indoor / Advanced Care
These are ferns for people who love a challenge. The blechnums (including Green Flame, Silver Lady and Australian Jungle Brake) have stiff, upright fronds with a bold, almost prehistoric look, while the autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) earns its name from the coppery-bronze colour of its new fronds, which mature to deep green. Both are beautiful, but both need consistently moist, humid conditions that take a bit more work to maintain indoors than the tougher ferns.
New fronds are fragile and should not be touched while unfurling. Blechnum species produce a small trunk over time as they mature, which gives them a distinctive tree-fern-like appearance on a smaller scale. The autumn fern's coppery new growth is its best feature, and good light encourages more frequent flushes of new fronds.
Medium, indirect light. Both prefer a shaded, sheltered position. Direct sun scorches the fronds quickly. A bathroom or cool room with filtered natural light is ideal.
This is where the advanced rating comes from. Keep the soil evenly moist at all times. Never let it dry out, not even the top layer. And they need high humidity. Dry indoor air is their biggest enemy. Mist daily, use a humidifier, stand them on pebble trays, or keep them in a humid room. In winter, when heaters dry the air, they struggle the most.
Feed monthly through spring and summer with a balanced liquid fertiliser at half strength. Ferns are sensitive to over-feeding, so always err on the side of too little.
Repot when roots fill the pot. Use a rich, moisture-retaining mix: potting soil, peat or coco coir, and perlite. A pot with good drainage is essential because the soil stays moist but should never be waterlogged.
Ask about availability. We keep a changing range of indoor plants. WhatsApp us to see what is in store, or pop in and we will help you choose.
