If you’re particular about beautifying your house, you must love household plants. They improve the aesthetics of your home and make it a major attraction that your visitors keep staring at.
Fluffy Ruffle Fern offers you the qualities that you need to adorn your house to your taste. However, you need to know the step-by-step process of caring for and growing a Fluffy Ruffle Fern, especially in your home.
Here you’ll discover some fascinating details about this houseplant. Don’t miss any details!
What is a Fluffy Ruffle Fern?
The Fluffy Ruffle Fern is also known as Nephrolepis Exaltata. It has an appealing look that has made it popular among gardeners and houseowners. The leaves take the shape of a sword, and it has a gloss-green color that makes them quite fluffy.
You can get the Fluffy Ruffle Fern in dwarf varieties, making it ideal for terrariums. They also require little costs for maintenance.
Qualities of Fluffy Ruffle Fern Plant
- The Fluffy Ruffle Fern grows between 6 to 12 inches. If you’re planning to keep a plant collection inside your home, this plant is the ideal one for you.
- This fern plant requires medium to high indirect light; you can still expose it to some sunlight as long as it is not scorching.
- It uses regular moisture to retain health because it has a small drought tolerance.
- Sword fern grows quite quickly, so you must constantly prune for it to remain in shape.
- The smallest varieties of the Boston fern plant are called “Marisa” and “Fluffy Ruffles”. Another variety suited for larger terrariums is the “Bostoniensis Compacta.” The Lemon Button Fern, also known as Nephrolepis cordifolia, is another interesting plant in the family.
- Fluffy Ruffle Fern is a sensitive houseplant affected by the wrong measures of humidity and moisture. Most of its visible problems are caused by these factors.
How Do You Take Care of a Fluffy Ruffle Fern?
Surely, you must be excited about growing this plant by yourself. However, you must follow the right steps to ensure that it turns out well. Here’s how to go about it.
Despite being a low-maintenance plant, it is important to water it weekly and use fertilizer monthly. This way, it can grow into health quickly. Also, there’s an ideal soil level for this sword fern, and it is a little acidic soil between 5.5 to 6.5.
Once you’ve gotten this range, you can move ahead to start planting. The perfect temperature range for it to grow evenly is between 65 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit.
Water
Whenever you feel the topsoil of the sword fern and realize that it is dry, make sure to water it. In cases where as much as 2 inches is dry, water the plant till the water trickles from the drainage. The topsoil’s dryness depends on the climate condition when grown. Depending on the weather, it can get dry only within 24 hours or even a week.
Strike a balance when watering this plant to ensure that it isn’t too moist. If the color of your leaves is dim or when they are crisp, that’s a sign that your houseplant can use more water. When the leaves’ edges are burnt, you’ve used too much water.
Soil
The Fluffy Fern plant uses slightly acidic soil. However, there’s a way you can achieve the right range. Reduce the PH of the soil by including two or three inches of peat moss. Peat moss is a popular choice among plant lovers as it helps to accelerate growth.
The ability of the soil to retain moisture increases when you add peat moss; sand improves drainage, while perlite helps create better circulation of air. You also need organic matter to ensure that your plant grows properly. You can use compost or leaf mold as nutrients for the soil.
Sunlight
Indirect light is perfect for the Fluffy Fern plant. There are various ways you can go about it. You can decide to put it some inches away from the window to avoid direct sunlight. If you want to place it close to a window, you can put it behind a curtain that would help to filter the light. Shade cloth is another way to filter the light, especially in a garden. With this balance, it would get the required sunlight without the leaves being affected by the blazing sun.
Humidity
The Fluffy Fern plant performs exceeding well in an environment with high humidity. It requires about 70%-90%humidity for it to grow healthy. There are various ways to increase humidity; one of the most common is placing a pebble tray underneath it. The moisture in the air increases when water evaporates from the pebbles. You can use a terrarium or grow it among other houseplants to increase humidity.
Fertilizer
Use fertilizer to speed up the growth process. From April to September, use it monthly but in other months, apply it every two months. Mix the fertilizer to avoid burning the plant, and make sure the soil is moist before application.
How to Propagate Fluffy Ruffle Fern
Since the Fluffy Ruffle Fern is related to the Boston Fern, it is easy to assume they have the same propagation process, but that’s only far from the truth. This plant uses the division method, while Boston Fern uses spores. Here’s the step-by-step process for propagation:
- Take out the Fluffy Ruffle Ferm from the pot
- Pour out the excess soil
- Use your finger or little stick to separate the roots
- Make use of a sharp knife to cut the plant into two
- When you’re done, place both parts in different pots
- Let both pots have access to indirect sunlight and keep watering them
- Within 2-4 weeks, both plants in the pot will start growing again
Congratulations, you’ve just learned how to multiply your sword fern collection. Easy right?
Final Words
The Fluffy Ruffle Fern is undoubtedly an exceptional houseplant that requires great care to grow into a healthy plant. If you follow these steps, that will be a breeze for you.
However, it is necessary to note that it can have pythium root rot and also be attacked by pests. All you need to do is adhere to easy processes to set your precious plant right despite the possible problems that can arise.
