How to Keep Your Maidenhair Fern Alive - Maidenhair Fern Care Guide - Adiantum raddianum Fragrans

Today I want to explain how to best care for your Maidenhair Fern and stop it from losing too many fronds and getting brown crispy leaves.
Grab your own Maidenhair Fern here: geni.us/Maidenhair_Fern
Have you had trouble growing or are you having trouble looking after a Maidenhair fern? These are quite simple houseplants to look after if you follow these few simple rules.
TL;DR
Likes:
Bright indirect light
Evenly moist soil
Dislikes:
Drying out
Harsh direct sun
Is it losing fronds all the time? Are the leaves getting brown and crispy or yellow and limp?
Well if that’s the case hang around because I will explain all of these situations to you, what you need to avoid doing and what you really MUST do to keep your maidenhair fern in tip-top condition.
Country to popular belief I don’t think this is a difficult plant to keep, many people say it’s a picky plant, I don’t think it’s a difficult plant but you MUST get these key points right in order to keep your fern looking great all year round.
If your fronds are drying up and turning crispy it’s probably not getting enough water.
If they are turning yellow and limp they probably aren’t getting enough light, just because they are a fern doesn’t mean they will be happy in deep shade, they will need bright indirect light, not harsh hot direct light and not deep shade but somewhere in the middle is fine.
Humidity is a contentious issue because if you watch a few guides for this plant they will all say high humidity, but I don’t think average humidity will be an issue for this plant, I think they would like it but I think the moisture is much more if an issue than humidity - now the two are linked in some way because if you have low humidity your plant will dry out quickly which means it will need watering more often BUT if you keep the correct amount of moisture in the soil, but watering often enough then I don’t think you will have an issue with humidity.
The other thing to note is that it’s OK if fronds fall off, as your Maidenhair fern grows the older fronds will drop off and new ones will grow, this is just the normal life cycle so if this is happening then it’s totally fine and normal, if however more fronds are falling off than growing then there is a bigger issue and with this plant its nearly always going to be the amount of water, usually not enough.
Feed your fern once per week or once every other week in the growing season and it will reward you with many years of fabulous growth!

[@artfan3118]

If you do accidentally miss a watering and it dies back, take scissors and cut off just about two inches from the base. Keep watering and slowly it will grow back. Beautiful new leaves, very forgiving plants. I have about 20 and miss watering one now and then and in about 3 months they recover. I fertilize with a little epsom salts in the water once a month. I don't get any fancy fertilizers here in Africa so epsom salts is what I use for all my ferns mostly.

[@HouseplantHacks]

Great advice, thanks for sharing. 🙂

[@lilij1915]

Do you water a little daily?

[@stevemcgrane5650]

A weak-strength black tea (a very weak dilution) is a good revivor of maiden hair ferns as it provides excellent amounts of nutrients in ionic form. Secondly, tea is an effective fungal and mould killer. I also suggest placing one cm of stone in the bottom of a decorative pot in which your plastic pot actually houses the fern. This reduces moisture loss through leaves and provides a constant osmotic wicking of moisture, simulating the natural environment of most maiden hair ferns, noting that some maiden hairs may not be terrestrial.

[@HouseplantHacks]

Very interesting and helpful post Steve thank you for your input. Andy.

[@bluelavender7773]

Great video! Thank you! I have my Maidenhair on the balcony, and it spreaded almost in all the pots of my plants :). I have one that i forgot to water and dried out all. So i cut all the stems and kept watering as usual. In few weeks new fronds started to grow. The soil should never go dry. Once the plant gets dry it will never revive its leaves as other plants do. In winter i water it almost once at 2 days. In summer i must water it daily or maybe twice a day. Anyway...its a beautiful plant, that spreads so good through its spores (without our intervention), and even if it loses its fronds, will come back. Just dont give up on watering it.

[@HouseplantHacks]

Great tips thank you for sharig your advice! ;-)

[@penangiteInAU]

Thanks for the helpful tips, in particularly the balancing act of watering 💧

[@HouseplantHacks]

Glad it was helpful! :-)

[@shab3360]

Thank you so much for your great advice and video 👍

[@HouseplantHacks]

You're very welcome! Thanks for watching. :-)

[@patriciaa5894]

Thanks for the info ❤

[@HouseplantHacks]

You're welcome. :-)

[@adrianabriff2102]

Thank you so mucho. I just got one and I love it. Hope it will not dry!

[@HouseplantHacks]

Keep the water coming and it will be fine! :-)

[@macopa12]

Hi, I'd like to try again on those maidenhair ferns. I grew up with those in our garden and along the paths in the hills and mountains in the Philippines, but somehow I cannot get it to live longer here in California. With this video, I now want to try again. Thank you

[@HouseplantHacks]

I'm pleased to hear that! Let us know how you get on. Andy

[@anamariaclemencia]

Good explanation, thanks....

[@HouseplantHacks]

You're welcome.

[@icemancometh8679]

Mr Mouse, how'd you like the maidenhair fern? They're pretty easy to take care of just keep them damp huh? Yeah, with all that talk about maiden hair and ferns made me think of medieval times with the castles, knights in shining armor and fair maidens. Yeah, people walk around with giant turkey drumsticks in their hand and beggars beg from you. Yeah, wow look over there josting! Oh, my favorite wait for me!🐀(((((((((🏃((((((((

[@julianemeixner6104]

Oh my god! Just in the right time :D recently bought one and it's already like 80% dead 🙈 Thanks for amother great video!

[@HouseplantHacks]

Happy to be of help Juliane! Good luck with the rescue! :-)

[@artfan3118]

Trim off the dead fronds and don't forget to water this time and it will send up tiny new fronds.

[@darrellcampbell5022]

Mine is a north facing window. It's got some browning on some of the leaves- not sure why- I check it with a moisture monitor every day and water if it is 4. However it also has spores on some leaves and I've never had so much new fronds come through on any of the these plants. Can't be getting too much sun is an 18 degrees north window in southern England can it?

[@HouseplantHacks]

If you're keeping it alive you're doing well! Some of the older fronds will die off naurally that might be all it is. If you are regularly getting new fronds I would say all is well.

[@ruthietreselan]

As an indoor plant for Texas it is easier to water I do not recommend it as an outdoor plant

[@marymorris9421]

What do you recommend I do when I go on vacation?

[@HouseplantHacks]

Ask a neighbour? Or put the pots in a big tray filled with water that will keep them moist for longer.

[@MeteoricMarlin]

Your profile hammer has a dark burgundy plant with green edges. Can you tell me what it’s called?

[@HouseplantHacks]

They are called coleus and are readily available in Europe and in the US. You can grow them from seed or buy them as adult plants to go straight into borders and pots.

[@MeteoricMarlin]

@@HouseplantHacks Thank you so much! I’ll be buying one asap 😊

[@Victoria-ef4ih]

Hi! With that size, do you water it every day?

[@HouseplantHacks]

It lasts about three days until I water it again at this time of year, in the summer it's nearly every day yes.

[@kimberlylarkins8858]

Should it be spritzed with water on the frawns?

[@HouseplantHacks]

You can mist them but it will have limited impact on humidity after maybe 30 minutes.

[@lilij1915]

How often do you do the deep soak?

[@HouseplantHacks]

weekly or just keep some water in the bottom of a tray to soak it up all the time.

[@thomasashe2681]

Is it adiantum raddianum fragrans or Adiantum capillus-veneris? Or are those two different plants?

[@HouseplantHacks]

No idea, often the nursary pots are labeled incorrectly anyway.

[@lindapatshannon7248]

I’ve just ordered 2 maidenhair rhizomes and was told to attach them to tufa stone. Can I actually plant them in earth?

[@HouseplantHacks]

Ys, in the earth is probably better as you can create more humidity and moisturem they don't like to dry out at all.

[@sofiawils3829]

Is that all to grow beautiful fern? For some reason she forgot to talk about fertilizer, which is much more important than too much sunlight or too much of water.

[@HouseplantHacks]

sorry to miss this out, some plant food occasionally in the growing season, maybe monthly is all it needs.

[@deborahmosley9665]

Can I use miracle grow? If not what makes it happy

[@HouseplantHacks]

Should be fine.

[@Daisy.florina]

mine curls up and brown tips and crispy, I watered with rain water, and filtered light and I don't know what is wrong eventually dies I have had 3 and all in the same way. I even spray it with water everyday. I have hdd different types and they all died in the same way,

[@HouseplantHacks]

Not enough water I would say, the roots are very dense so you need to make sure the roots are wet all the way through, standing the pot in a sink and running the rainwater water through for a while is a good way and don't let it dry out.

[@Daisy.florina]

@@HouseplantHacks Is always has water never dried out.

[@lizzielewin1256]

Hi I live with south facing windows,can I still grow maidenhair fern?

[@HouseplantHacks]

Yes, just ensure that the direct sun doesn't hit the plants if it's close to the glass, if you can find a spot that gets the sunlight that is farther back from the window by at least a few feet then it should be ok, plenty of water is key.

[@CVenza]

What if the fronds dry out or wilt when transplanted?

[@HouseplantHacks]

try to keep the roots noist at all times while transplanting, if some fronds dry out the plant will make more but if the roots dry out the plant may die.

[@raymunddionisio2611]

How to keep them small? Mine are bigger..

[@HouseplantHacks]

You can't stop them growing but you can divide them next time you repot and so you can create a few smaller plants out of one.

[@norah1933]

But what do you feed the maidenhair?

[@HouseplantHacks]

Sorry I missed this, a general purpose liquid houseplant feed will be fine once a month.

[@susancurry1346]

Does the maidenhair fern benefit from misting?

[@HouseplantHacks]

Slightly yes, although the additional humidity you get from misting doesn't last long unfortunately. A humidity tray would be better.

[@lilij1915]

Mine is spindly

[@HouseplantHacks]

possibly needs more light? or food?

[@loriclarke1759]

I feed mine diluted worm wee.

[@HouseplantHacks]

Sounds perfect to me! The worms don't need it anymore so why not make good use of it! I use tropical fish wee and poop for my houseplants too! :-)

[@jokinmyass9446]

Maidenhair ferns are ideal in moss terrariums! Just food for thought.

[@lorene.zackery7395]

I never seen a plant like this with in year I brought 3 and I lost 3 plants it pretty plant I can, t save them I try roots root will not grow

[@HouseplantHacks]

You are not alone!

[@kimoamadal4626]

Cette fougère peut supporter un manque d'eau mais elle n'aime pas du tout les substrats lourds. Si ses racines sont asphyxiées ce sera le dépérissement assuré.

[@lorene.zackery7395]

This hard plant I. Can, keep alive I waste my money on this plant

[@HouseplantHacks]

Sorry you are struggling, some plants are just very hard to keep inside.

[@ruthietreselan]

Get a self watering pot

[@ProfitisElias]

Such a long video...

[@HouseplantHacks]

You're welcome!