Native to tropical areas of the world (West Indies, Polynesia, Africa, America), the Boston fern, or nephrolepis exaltata, is a superb indoor fern with well arched green fronds and a bushy habit, which will ideally find its place next to other green plants, thanks to which it will maintain its humidity level.

The Boston fern has undergone many crosses and hybridizations, and the species are ever more numerous.

It can brighten up your home for many years, its foliage becoming more generous year after year. It is a plant easy to live with provided that you respect its needs in humidity and heat.

Not hardy, it hates drought more than anything else, which also makes it the ideal prey for mites. Regular, but not excessive, spraying, potting and watering are therefore the ideal conditions for the successful cultivation of a Boston fern.

Installed in a slightly acidic and well-drained substrate, the Boston fern will arouse admiration with its very ornamental foliage. The foliage consists of beautifully cut light green fronds that grow in a rosette from the heart of the plant. At full maturity, the Boston fern can reach 60 cm in height with a spread of 1.20 m.

It develops hairy rhizomes, which can sometimes come out of their substrate, to be removed every 2 years during the spring repotting. It is moreover a green plant with depolluting virtues. Why not place one in each room to durably clean the atmosphere of your house?

The nephrolepis likes humid and well-lit atmospheres. The ideal place for this fern? A bathroom with a window, or a humid greenhouse.

However, as long as you keep a close eye on its humidity level, it can also thrive in other rooms of the house. The important thing is not to expose it to direct sunlight. For example, avoid placing it right under a south-facing window.

Also, choose a location away from drafts and out of the way. Hanging, its fronds will fall elegantly, but the Boston fern is just as aesthetic when its pot is placed on a table, a pedestal table, or on the ground with other green plants.

You can take your nephrolepis out on a terrace or in the garden in summer. Protect it from the sun.

Prefer a large enough pot to install it. Create a well-draining mixture for it: a layer of non-limy gravel at the bottom of the pot, covered with a special acidic fern soil.

The Boston fern does not like hard water. You can add a little vinegar to your tap water to restore its pH if necessary.

Watering should be regular all year round, but make sure that its roots do not remain in stagnant water. In summer as well as in winter in a heated room, spray its foliage every 3 days. If your plant is placed in suspension, spray every day.

In summer, spraying the leaves can be a good alternative to watering, and will help maintain its humidity level while preventing it from suffering too much from the heat. Do you live in a dry area?

Place the pot of your indoor fern on a saucer filled with moist clay balls, and moisten them regularly (every 3 days).

During the growing season, you can add a special fertilizer for green plants every 3 weeks, to be mixed with the watering. Stop all fertilization in winter. Care Nephrolepis does not require any particular care as long as you respect its needs for humidity and heat.

Avoid any source of dryness (direct sun, drafts, heating). In summer, a shower will also help it get rid of the dust accumulated on its leaves. Don't use a too powerful jet to avoid damaging its foliage.

How to repot it ? Repot in spring, every year for young ferns, every 2 years for adult plants. In their new pot, bring an extra dose of leaf soil. Take advantage of this repotting to remove the hairy rhizomes protruding from the substrate.