Soil mixture for ferns?
#BlueStarFern
What do you guys use? Ferns hate me and I'm trying to change that!
What do you guys use? Ferns hate me and I'm trying to change that!
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Hi there! I have my blue star fern growing in semi-hydro. My substrate is primarily pumice mixed with clay kitty litter (the pumice doesn’t hold nutrients super well so the clay pieces just help with that). It was a VERY long transition period to move this fern from soil to semi-hydro but it’s over the last couple of months it’s really found its happy place and is putting out lots of lovely new fronds! 🌿🌿🌿 I have my other ferns in LECA in self watering pots with wicks. It’s early days yet as I’ve only just transitioned them from the garden bed to pots. The original leaves dried out so I chopped the stems completely. I’m using clear inner pots though and can see through them and there’s new fronds growing inside, making their way through. So I have hope!
I haven't heard of using clay litter but it sounds like a good idea. I might start with self watering pots first. It's frustrating! Seems like no amount of misting, watering, humidity helps! Just dry and crunchy and sad 😢 I'm glad you found a system that works and thanks for the tips! If self watering doesn't work I'll research semi-hydro
@FairFlaxsilk i had the same issue until i got this mini irrigation system off amazon for while i’m traveling. while i was testing it out, i ended up deciding to leave my dying fern with it and it FINALLY started coming back to life!!! definitely helps sooo much!
@FairFlaxsilk I don’t have a blue star fern but I have several others namely Kimberly queen, maidenhair, northern maiden hair, lemon button, dark green button, Boston, Erect swords, leather leaf, Mother fern, birds nest and Australian or Autumn fern, plus a few more I can’t think of right now. I feel your pain and I struggle too. Some love me, some hate me. I’ve killed two heart leaf ferns, a staghorn, rabbits foot, an Australian and a few others so I’ve learned a lot about their care. A Blue Star Fern like most other ferns, thrive best in a well-draining, loose, airy potting mix, ideally a soil mix designed orchids. You can make your own mix which is what I do by combining equal parts of perlite, orchid bark or coco coir chips to a standard potting mix. The key things are good drainage, keeping the soil consistently moist but not soggy and providing lots of humidity. Essentially, a you want a potting mix that stays moist but not soggy, with good air circulation around the roots. They also like bright indirect light and love humidity. If you don’t have a humidifier, place a pebble tray filled with water under the plant. You can mist too but I tend to avoid misting because I have a room humidifier. Here a just a few of my ferns! I have about 20 I think and those are the smaller ones that are inside the house.
Thanks for the tip on soil. My blue stars are looking a bit rough. I just ordered some orchid potting mix.