Boston Fern Care and Maintenance

by DoItYourself Staff

what you'll need

Soil
Small Gravel
Water
Spray Bottle
Gardening Scissors
Fern Food

There are many different ways to maintain and care for Boston Fern. Most of the time, they can also be found growing in hanging baskets. Boston Ferns can be used to decorate your porch or the entrance of your garden.

Step 1 – Getting the Right Soil

Perennial plants are plants that are able to live up to two years. They usually bloom during the summer months and the spring, and then they perish during the winter months and the fall. Then, they grow again from their roots and bloom again. To sustain this cycle, you need to use well drained soil. You can add a mixture of small gravel and soil for better drainage.

Step 2 – Keeping it in Shade

Boston Ferns are not used to a lot of sunlight. If you want to keep your Boston Fern outdoors, make sure to keep your Boston Fern in a place that prevents the sun light from hitting it directly. You can hang your fern under the roof of your porch. If you have your fern inside your household, you can put it in a place where it will get some sunlight but not a lot. Allow some sunlight to hit the fern in its core so that the fern will retain its shape.

Step 3 – Keeping Your Boston Fern Cool

One of the things that Boston Ferns love the most is to be damp. In order to keep your fern in shape, you can spray some water with a water sprayer. Make sure not to over water your Boston Fern, however, for you might actually drown it and kill it. If it is possible to keep your fern in a humid space like a bathroom, it would thrive well.

Step 4 – Growth Season Care

During your fern's growth season, make sure to make the soil a little more damp, and during the winter, make sure your soil is drier than usual. The growth season for your Boston Fern will depend on the weather since Boston Fern's grow where there is heat. When you notice more fronds popping out, make sure to nurture and assist your fern by giving it extra water.

Step 5 – Trimming your Plant

You can trim your plant using gardening scissors to help your Boston Fern become the desired shape. Remove all dead or dried out parts from your Boston Fern.

Step 6 – Feeding your Fern

You can go to your local hardware store or a nursery and look for different kinds of food for your fern. This might vary depending on your location and the type of weather you get during the year. Make sure to follow the instructions that come with the food. Most of the time, you need to feed your Boston Fern once a month. The good thing is that most Boston Ferns do not need fertilizer that often.