How to Grow Boston Ferns

Favorites in Victorian decorating schemes, Boston ferns are attractive and popular houseplants. While these tropical natives are generally hardy, they do require care and attention in order to flourish. With proper management, however, Boston ferns will add their feathery grace to your home for many years to come.

• Keep your fern in an area that gets lots of indirect sunlight, such as a north facing window. A Boston Fern can survive in dim light, but it will not flourish. You may need to move the fern to an east or west facing window in the winter when daylight hours are shorter.


• Keep room temperature between 65 and 75 degrees during the day and up to 10 degrees cooler at night. If you need to keep the fern in a cooler room, water only when the soil is very dry. If, on the other hand, the temperature is above 75 degrees, water your fern more often.


• Keep your fern in a humid environment such a bathroom or a room with a humidifier. To increase humidity in a dry room, add a tray containing stones or gravel and water to the table with your plant. As the water evaporates, it adds humidity to the air around the fern. You can also mist the fern to add humidity.  The ideal humidity level for your fern is above 50%. To test the humidity around your plant, use a hygrometer.


• Fertilize your fern with half strength liquid houseplant fertilizer once it starts to sprout fronds in the spring.  Continue fertilizing once a month until the start of autumn. Do not fertilize in the fall or winter months.


• Water the fern several times a day so that the soil is evenly moist. Do not allow the fern to become dry between watering sessions unless the temperature is below 65 degrees. 


• Repot your ferns in the spring if pots become overcrowded. Divide crowded plants by carefully cutting between the fleshy roots. Repot each divided plant in a mixture that is at least 50% peat moss and contains no soil.