I have 2 birds nest ferns in my house. Keep the air about 78 degrees, in a dark corner not directly near a window or AC. The leaves are brown and wilty and soil was dry. Gave it water and the leaves never changed. I did the other way and let them stay moist and still wilty and unhealthy. I want to keep these alive..... what do you suggest. I have heard humidity but they can't be in either bathroom due to space so that is not an option for me. Desparate and need some help PLEASE.................
Re: birds nest fern help I need some help with my birds nest fern. My sister in Alabama can grow them anywhere in her house. Well I live in Florida and tried the same TLC and failing. They are in a dark corner not direct light or AC on them. I have watered them as needed and the leaves still stay brown and wilty. There are not new growths coming up. I have also let them get dry thinking that I was over watering them. What do I need to do? I heard that humidity in a bathroom is good, however, for me this isn't an option due to limited space in my bathrooms. They are in AC of 78 degrees and the lowest 75 at night in my house. Any thoughts about getting them to survive??? Very desparate and love these ferns. Thanks a lot Carolyn
I was in the same position that you are in. Up here in Canada ive only ever seen them for sale once, so i got one. I placed it in a tray full of pebbles and half filled it with water, then placed the plant ontop of this ( making sure that the roots arent touching the water. It was doing fine till i missed watering for 2 days. IT got very wilty and never fully recovered. Misting it seemed to help it alot ( the only thing with this is i did it every 2 hours.. not good for the walls). The one thing that did it in is it went for a 12 foot fall... right ontop or the growth. On the same subject, my chameadorea elengans survived a even higher fall. You may also want to try to make a makeshift greenhouse around it.
I'm growing a couple indoors, and though they're touted as 'low light' plants....IMHO that describes their outdoor preference, not indoors. Mine grow about 5 ft. or so from my south window - they get a bit of indirect light for a good portion of the day. They need some light indoors - I don't see them surviving in a dark corner. My personal feeling is that the light is a bigger issue than humidity for this plant.
Ive seen pics of them in australia about 60 ft or higher in the air ( above the canopy) In direct light ( I seen this also on "planet earth")
You must always be mindful of where plants come from when you are trying to grow them successfully. Being tropical epipytes, they need heat, light, and moisture. If you're growing it in more or less typical soil, you've set yourself up for an even greater challenge... Most likely, you need to give it more light, and keep it well watered. I can keep mine outside for seven or eight months of the year, and maintain them equally as well indoors during the winter.
