Plant Care Tips

Keep me in a humid room like a bathroom or kitchen. Or mist me regularly.

I thrive in bright indirect light, out of direct sunshine. I can also tolerate light shade.

When my topsoil is dry water me around my centre, to avoid my roots getting too wet and rotting.

About Bird's Nest Fern

History

The Bird's Nest Fern houseplant is in the genus of ferns called Asplenium, traditionally referred to as spleenworts. Spleenworts were used as a medicine, from the Medieval period until the 19th century, to treat a range of conditions, including alopecia, dandruff and kidney stones.

Cultivation

Bird's Nest Ferns houseplants are epiphytes, meaning they grow on the surface of other plants, absorbing nutrients and moisture from the air rather than from a root system. In their native range, from southeast Asia and East Africa, they can often be found living in nooks of palm trees.

Care

In their natural habitat, the Bird's Nest Fern houseplant lives below the tree canopy where there is bright, indirect light and lots of humidity. They will thrive in similar conditions and would suit being kept in your bathroom or kitchen.

Did you know?

Asplenium nidus has been used in traditional medicine for asthma, sores, weakness, and halitosis. The sprouts are eaten as a vegetable in Taiwan where they are often sautéed with chilli and garlic.

Toxicity

Bird's Nest Fern houseplants are non-toxic so although not advised should pose no harm if accidentally chewed or eaten by your furry friends.

Also Known As

Nest Fern