Asplenium nidus
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Common Name: bird's nest fern
Type: Fern
Family: Aspleniaceae
Zone: 11 to 12
Native Range: Tropical Old World
Garden Location: Kemper Center for Home Gardening Building
Height: 3 to 5 feet
Spread: 2 to 3 feet
Bloom Time: Non-flowering
Bloom Description: 
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium
Maintenance: Medium
Leaves: Evergreen
Tolerates: Dense Shade, Rabbits

Culture

Grow as a houseplant in St. Louis. Best grown in a well-drained, peaty potting mixture. Plants do best in warm, moderately bright areas of the home. Tolerant of some shade. Avoid direct sun. Keep soils uniformly moist. Plants require fairly high humidity, which is a condition that can be difficult to meet in winter. Site plants in humidified areas or bathrooms or on wet-pebbled trays. Regular temperatures in summer and minimum 55F in winter. Avoid handling the delicate fronds. Potted ferns may be placed outside in shady areas in the summer.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Native to rainforests in tropical Southeast Asia, bird’s nest fern is relatively easy to grow indoors in St. Louis as long as it receives adequate humidity. Features smooth-margined, strap-shaped, shiny evergreen fronds (to 20” long) that form an upright-arching clump of foliage. Although plants may grow to 5’ tall in their native habitat, they more typically reach 2’ tall in indoor containers. Leaves rise from a crown with a central hollow that purportedly resembles a bird’s nest.

Problems

No serious insect or disease problems. Watch for scale. Drafts may cause fronds to brown at the edges. Chemical insecticides will damage plants (use soaps if necessary).

Garden Uses

Houseplant for areas with good indirect light and respectable humidity.

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