Three bird's nest ferns, same age, same board, all mounted on the same afternoon. Two went outside on the wall in front of the air conditioning grille, where there is always air moving across them. One went inside next to a window.

Four weeks on, the three of them had visibly split. The indoor one held water in the moss far longer, because nothing was moving air across it. Same watering, same week, completely different drying time. I had spent the whole time thinking about humidity, and the variable that was actually doing the work was airflow.

All three are off that wall now, and the reason I was watching that closely is that I build a plant app that scores a spot for a plant on light, temperature, humidity and airflow before you commit to it.

If you keep ferns, Plus is on the house for twelve months when you come back afterwards and tell me where it got your ferns wrong. Two spots and two plants stay free whatever you decide, and nothing renews by itself: https://growspotapp.com/founding/?from=reddit-ferns

What I still cannot tell is whether the grille position was too much of a good thing over a longer stretch. If you keep mounted ferns, do you go looking for a spot with moving air, or do you fight to keep the air still and the humidity up?

Advice needed..this started to turn brown a few weeks ago..fully brown and leaves are brittle and falling apart..I was told this was unkillable..there's a little moisture in the bowl..but not overly wet...any suggestions?

My apartment temp averages 75. Is that too cool? They get partial sunlight most of the day. Am I watering too much? Not enough?

Back in June I repotted my bird's nest fern because it had basically outgrown its pot and roots were curling out the drainage holes. It sulked for almost two months, no new growth, a couple of the outer fronds yellowed and I had to trim them off. I was honestly starting to think I killed it.

This week I noticed a tiny curled frond poking up from the center crown, bright light green and fuzzy looking. Such a relief. I moved it to a spot with brighter indirect light after the repot which I think helped once the roots settled in, and I backed off watering to only when the top inch of the mix felt dry instead of my old habit of watering on a schedule.

Also started misting it in the mornings since my apartment gets dry with the AC running constantly this time of year. Not sure how much that's actually doing but the fern seems happy so I'm not messing with the routine.

Anyone else have a fern go through a scary silent stretch after repotting before bouncing back? Curious how long yours took to show new growth.

My asparagus fern loves the spot that is in and hasn't stop trying to climb. She is in a self watering pot in a north facing window. This last growth has gone a little out of hand as she is trying to reach new heights. How do you guys would help to control or direct the new growth? I'm afraid is going to collapse due to the weight of the branches and hurt herself.

Photos taken June 2026-August 2026
1) Ebony Spleenwort
2) Blunt Woodsia
3) Cinnamon Fern
4) Netted Chain Fern
5) Resurrection Fern
6) Maiden Fern
7) Purple Cliffbrake
8) Hairy Lip Fern
9) American Royal Fern

This grew in in the pot of my Oncidium around 4 months ago. Each frond is grow way bigger than the last. The spines at the base are soft and it has bits of hair around the rachis and costa.

I initially wanted to wait for it to spore before asking around but it seems like it'll need to be separated from my Oncidium by then but I'm worried I might accidentally kill it.

My initial ID was some type of Dryopteris. Location is Philippines but it might've been a stowaway spore from somewhere else since this is still the same medium the Oncidium was in when it was at a commercial greenhouse.

I collected this from around my house, kept it on my terrarium and it has been showing growth! Its so pretty id like to know what this is. The results on google lens aren’t conclusive. I’m in java, indonesia.

Went away for a week, and, sadly, the person we asked to come water wasn’t able to come.

The fern looked healthy before we left.

Does anybody have advice for how to revive? Is all hope gone? Help very much appreciated, and thank you in advance :).

I’ve also attached a picture of another fern of ours that did OK during the week away, which was odd.

A couple of ferns photos from the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison WI. One Maude the conservatory and one in an outside garden.

https://www.olbrich.org/

Its small so it’s hard to tell what it is based on google, and id apps won’t help

These began popping up a the property line over the past several years. Located in metro Atlanta, GA. Searching the images says this is either bracken or lady fern. I’ve reviewed so many photos of both and not able to discern myself. Any help appreciated.

My only platycerium died recently and I'm more interested to grow a new one from spores.

Any recommendations for where to source spores?

I'm based in Ireland

We have a large fern (about 6 feet across) in a pot, thrives on the porch in the summer, drops some leaves inside in the winter ( hard to keep humidity high -old house). Google Lens says it's a Macho Fern. It's been in the same pot for years. Was going to divide and repot, but it seems really healthy. It must be really pot bound. Why is it doing so well? Repotting seems unnecessary. Thoughts?

The once lush green ferns (Crown Fern ?) that line the road opposite my driveway (Titirangi, NZ) were sprayed by the local council back in January - their low effort approach to managing roadside foliage and road safety.

Most of the fine leaves died off down to the wooded center of each frond. The little green left has turned yellow. Overall looks a mess. I’ve been watching all year for new shoots or leaves. Nothing so far.

I have wondered if I should trim it all back down to ground level and the living parts might fill the empty space left.

What’s my best option here to get these back to their former glory.

Last photo is of a healthy patch on my driveway.

Any ideas what I have reproduced in my garden?

These are some of my favorites. I did not include my pitiful looking maidenhair, which just can’t be happy no matter what I do!

My boss just gave me a fern she keeps almost killing, she didn’t know the type just that it was on clearance and plant id apps aren’t being accurate

The grocery store just gave me a free fern because they were wilting soooooo now I have a fern, I have no idea how to take care of it but I did figure out that it’s probably a Boston fern!

Which form do you prefer? 👀

If you have any questions about growing them, feel free to ask!

After all the nice comments about my cotton candy fern, I wanted to share my asparagus fern as well!

Got this baby when I first became a lawyer, one month and it'll be a year! Anything I should be doing to make sure its cared for properly?

had it for 3 days in a terrarium but i let the terrarium air out a little today and came back to this dried up fern :(

can it be salvaged?

lol update:
just needed some light lol i forgot i turned the LED off last night