Hurricane Fern Plant Care

Hurricane Fern

Asplenium nidus and Asplenium antiquum are tropical plants from the group of plants collectively called bird’s nest ferns. It has long cringle-edged leaves forming a central rosette.

This slow-growing houseplant is grown for its interesting light green foliage. It’s an epiphyte which means it grows on top of large trees in the wild.
They stop growing in the winter. Their growing season starts from the spring through the summer. New fonds constantly emerge during the growing season

The Asplenium hurricane has tall green fronds, which look like they are the swirling ocean in a hurricane. Which is why they are called hurricane ferns.

Bird’s Nest Fern Care

The bird’s nest fern needs relatively easy care. They need an indoor environment to mimic that of a tropical rainforest.

In its habitat, the light is blocked by the thick canopy above it. That’s why they have adapted to grow in lower light conditions.

There is ample water in the rainforest. This epiphyte houseplant thrives in a high-humidity environment. Like other ferns, it propagates through spores.

Watering bird’s nest ferns

Birds nest fern needs to be watered every one or two weeks. You will need to water them more frequently if they get more light and less for lower light areas.

When the first inch or top half of the potting mix dries out completely, then you can water it thoroughly. Avoid pouring the water over the central rosette but around the leaves.

Since they also get moisture from the air, you do not have to fret about watering them all that much.

They will be fine if the soil is moist and not wet.

Birds Nest Fern Light Requirements

Keep your hurricane ferns out of direct sunlight. Asplenium hurricane, like other ferns, thrives in indirect light. You will get plenty of bright indirect light if you have a north-facing window.

You don’t need to find an exceptionally bright spot. Bird’s nest ferns like Asplenium nidus, Asplenium antiquum prefer lower-light environments.

If you have no source of sunlight in your apartment, you could try artificial growth lighting. Only do that if you plan on getting many other plants. Asplenium nidus
would need to be shaded from the lamp by other plants.

Bird’s Nest Ferns Humidity Requirement

Epiphytes absorb water from the air using their leaves. Misting regularly is a great way to imitate their high-humidity environment. The leaves will absorb the mist.

Try putting it in the bathroom to ensure your plant gets the 70% humidity.

Bird’s Nest Fern Fertilizer Requirements

These plants like nutrient-rich soil. You can add fertilizer to improve its growth. You can top-dress the soil if you’d like with powdered fertilizer.

However, you are better off diluting liquid fertilizer to half-strength. You can add that to the water used when watering your houseplant.

You will see tremendous results even if you feed them six weeks apart.

Bird’s Nest Fern Soil Requirments

You need to find pots with drainage holes for the excess water. Along with drainage holes, you’ll need well-draining soil as well.

An all-purpose potting mixture will do the job fine. However, you could make your own mixture with coconut coir, vermiculite, and compost.

Bird’s Nest Fern Propagation

You can propagate bird’s nest fern or hurricane fern through spores. To collect them, take a frond and put it in a paper bag.

After a week, you’ll find spores in the bag. Place the spores in peat moss for them to grow.

Water the growing medium thoroughly and watch your new hurricane fern grow before your eyes. Ensure a lower light and high humidity indoor environment.

Bird’s Nest Fern Common Problems

It’s natural for plants to face problems now and then. No matter how much effort we put into plant care, there is always space to improve.

Here are some problems that bird’s nest ferns like Asplenium hurricane fern.

Brown Tips

Have you noticed your bird’s nest fern or hurricane fern frond tips turning brown? If so, there could be several reasons why this is happening:

1. Underwatering the plant
2. Temperatures are too low
3. The air is too dry

All of these problems lead to overly dry fronds. If the fronds remain moist, your houseplant will stay healthy.

Observe your plant closely to figure out which one of these reasons it could be. There’s a high chance it’s probably dry air.

Improve the humidity percentage by misting frequently. Brown tips are a common problem faced by bird’s nest ferns or hurricane ferns.

Root Rot

If you overwater your container plants, the roots sit in wet soil. Even though ferns love moisture, you can always have too much of a good thing.

This eventually leads to roots beginning to rot. Then they aren’t able to get water and nutrients to the plant.

It looks like your plant is not getting enough water even though you’re overwatering it. Many beginner gardeners make the mistake of watering their bird’s nest ferns even more frequently.

You should wait for the top inch or two to become completely dry between waterings if your bird’s nest fern or hurricane fern is facing rotting roots.

Root-bound

If your bird’s nest fern grows too large for its pot, it could become rootbound. Rootbound means that overgrown roots get matted together.

To fix this issue, you must repot your plant every six months to a year. Since this is a slow grower, you won’t need to worry about repotting to a new pot so frequently

Fill the new pot with some soil from the previous pot to help the plant become more accustomed to its new home. Once it grows new leaves, you can be sure the plant has stabilized after its been repot.

Crispy leaves

Bird’s nest ferns are lower-light-loving plants. If you suddenly notice crispy leaves, your plant is getting too much sunlight.

You should move the bird’s nest fern or hurricane fern to a place where it gets indirect light. The crispy leaves will return to normal if they aren’t too damaged soon.

Soon you’ll enjoy seeing bright green fronds on your potted fern again.

Yellow Spots On Fronds

If you notice yellow spots growing on the fronds, that means that it was infected with a fungus. Houseplants are susceptible to infections, especially those fond of humidity.

If your houseplants get infected, your must remove all the damaged fronds. That may make it possible to save the remaining plant left in the pot.

Let the top half of the soil dry entirely before watering to ensure fungus doesn’t grow in the soil.

Pests

Some common pests that attack the bird’s nest fern to hurricane ferns are:

1. Mealybugs
2. shore flies
3. foliar nematodes
4. spider mites
5. scale
6. fungus gnats

These pests damage the ferns in many different ways. They eat the fronds leaving holes in them.

You can prevent them from infesting your plants by spraying organic or chemical pesticides. You can make one at home by suspending neep oil in water.

Carefully check any plant like before bringing it home. It could be carrying some uninvited guests along with it.

Conclusion

An ideal plant to grow indoors, it can grow well in low light and humid environments. Fertilize them for improved growth.

Grow your Asplenium nidus, antiquum, or hurricane with the help of this plant care guide.