Bird’s Nest Fern Problems (Growing and Caring them)

by Becky Decker and Anita Shan · July 22, 2024

I have a Bird’s Nest Fern that is not looking good. I can’t seem to find out what’s wrong. I feel like it hates me. Is the problem underwatering, overwatering, or something else? To identify Bird’s Nest Fern problems, I delved into their care and growing techniques.

If you are also facing the same issue with your Bird’s Nest Fern, I suggest reading this guide, which will help you identify the problems and find solutions. You need to follow all the growing and caring steps to make it bloom beautifully and stay healthy. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s learn how to save the Bird’s Nest Fern.

Quick takeaways:

Bird’s nest ferns used to grow on the surface of other plants having a rainforest habitat.
It does have long, erect bright green fronds growing from a central rosette.
The other ferns, which grow feathery leaflets, bird’s nest ferns have smooth, lance-shaped fronds that further develop gentle ripples when grown with sufficient light.
Bird’s nest ferns love to grow in medium to bright indirect light, high humidity, and moist, well-drained soil.
The plant used to thrive in warm and humid environments that’s why the bathroom is the best place to keep them.
It do have a slow growth rate which grows slowly and smaller when they are kept indoors versus outdoors.

Bird’s nest fern plant:

Common Name	Bird’s nest fern, nest fern
Botanical Name	Asplenium nidus
Family	Aspleniaceae
Plant Type	Perennial
Mature Size	3–5 ft. tall, 2–3 ft. wide outdoors, 2 ft. tall and wide indoors
Sun Exposure	Partial, shade
Soil Type	Loamy, moist, well-drained
Soil pH	Acidic
Hardiness Zones	11–12, USA
Native Area	Asia, Australia, Africa

Common Problems With Bird’s Nest Fern:

Many common problems can affect bird’s nest ferns which I’ve explained below. Here you can treat the plant with natural insecticidal soaps that are best to use when it’s suffering from combat pest issues because chemical pesticides cause the plant to damage its fragile leaves.

There are many problems the plant gets affected due to improper environment such as:

Curling Leaves:

The plant kept in insufficient moisture will cause the leaves to curl and the edges of the leaves will turn brown.
The right way is to keep the soil lightly moist and don’t make the plant soil dry out completely.
In case the plant has brown edges, you need to keep the pot on a bubble tray or install a small space humidifier.

Birds’s Nest Fern Problems (Growing and Caring them)

Pale Leaves:

Talking about Bird’s Nest Fern fronds are always bright Apple green, which will be shiny but when fronds Start looking the first step to be taken is to check the light condition.
If the plant is getting too much bright light, it will damage the leaves and will result in looking pale, not like a bright green apple.
The best solution is to keep the plant in an east or north-facing window, which will provide it with full sun only in the morning.

Plant Doesn’t Grow:

The plant, it seems, is not growing because of two main reasons.
The first is due to inadequate fertilizer as they will grow, best with small feeding.
You need to treat the plant with a liquid fertilizer diluted to one-half or one-quarter strength that too in the active growing season.
Feed the plant once a week with fertilizer.
Remember, too much sunlight will hamper the growth of Bird’s Nest Ferns.

Poor Growth, Root Rot

Yes, plants do love to grow in moist soil soggy but the waterlogged soil condition will promote root rot conditions.
In case of a plant having an odor outlook, brown and mushy you need to stop watering the plant for a few days. Continue watering the plant when you find the soil getting dry.
Always make sure the container in which Bird’s Nest Fern is planted drains well.
In case of having problems with drainage, repot the plant in a mix of two-thirds perlite to one part peat moss.

Brown Fronds:

It cannot handle low temperatures like below 60°F (16°C).
Mostly the plant loves to grow in a temperature range of 70°F (27°C) to 80°F (21°C).
In case of turning off fronds to brown, including the edges or when the whole fronds turn brown, the first step is to check the temperature.
The problem can also be because of plants getting little water.
Make sure the soil is evenly moist, but don’t make it soggy.
Remember to mist the plant twice daily to increase the humidity.

Leaves Turning Yellow:

The plant does cause yellowing leaves when they are being overwatered.
To heal the plant, change your watering schedule when the situation gets worse repot the plant into a fresh dry potting mix.

Browning Tips:

The plant leaves will turn brown when they are going to die and be replaced with fresh growth that is normal.
Finding the browning of tips along the edges is the reason for drafts hitting the plant.
The best solution is to replace the spot of the plant away from air-conditioning vents and other drafty windows or doors.

Note:

To grow a Bird’s Nest Fern use a ceramic pot rather than using a plastic pot because when the pot is repotted in the ceramic pot the fern will get help to stabilize.

Overwatering:

Finding yellowing fronds, root rot, and having a foul odor from the soil are all signs of overwatering.
To cure plant overwatering you need to reduce watering frequency, improve soil drainage, and repot the plant in well-draining soil.

Underwatering:

When the plant is underwatered the plant will start to wilt, dry, and have crispy fronds, and browning leaf tips.
The only remedy for healing the plant underwater is water Bird’s Nest Fern when the top inch of soil is feeling dry or soak the plant thoroughly.
You can help the plant in boosting humidity by misting or a pebble tray.

Incorrect Light Conditions:

The getting faded or burnt leaves, stunted growth, and leggy plants is all signs of improper lighting.
You can cure the Bird’s Nest Fern by spotting them with indirect light because direct sun is not good for the plant.

Low Humidity:

The plant having brown tips and dry edges means Bird’s Nest Fern is sending SOS for more moisture in the air.
You need to mist them, get a humidifier, or set up a pebble tray below the plant.

Poor Soil Conditions:

The plant suffering from yellowing leaves and stunted growth is due to poor soil conditions.
To handle the issue repot the plant with well-draining soil, trim down all the rotten roots and water Bird’s Nest Fern.

Temperature Stress:

The plant having brown leaves and slowed growth does indicate when the plant is not happy with temperature.
You need to Bird’s Nest Fern away from drafts and any sudden temperature swings to protect it from any stress.

Fertilization:

Yes, providing fertilization is only key for to a lush, and healthy Bird’s Nest Fern.
I will suggest you to use a balanced fertilzier that too during the growing season.

Propagation:

Just make sure to handle Bird’s Nest Fern with care and maintain humid conditions for baby ferns.
The best way to propagate the plant is by dividing or harvesting spores.

Seasonal Care:

Yes, with different season changes it’s time for different care tactics.
In caring from seasonal remember to maintaining watering, lighting and humidity.

Bird’s Nest Fern Care:

To protect Bird’s Nest Fern for any common problem, you need to maintaining some caring needs:

Keep the plant in a place having medium to bright indirect light or particle shade.
Always maintain a temperature between 60°F and 80°F and with high humidity.
You need to plant Bird’s Nest Fern in a peat based potting mix with good drainage.
Bird’s Nest Fern need to get water for maintaining evenly moist temperature but not soggy.
Remember to feed Bird’s Nest Fern with a balanced houseplany fertilizer once per month during every growing season.

Bird’s Nest Fern Care Tips:

Here are some caring tips you need to follow for growing Bird’s Nest Fern:

Light:

Bird’s Nest Fern loves light can tolerate low light conditions, and grows much better in bright light conditions.
The plants will get perfect light when you keep them in the east or west-facing window and not in south facing window because the plants here get too much direct afternoon sunlight.

Soil and Container:

Remember to use an indoor potting mix that is well-draining.
You need to consider and think of container types such as using a terracotta pot, in which clay material get dry out of the soil faster than using other materials like glazed ceramic or plastic. But if you use to water the plant frequently then it’s okay to use this type of container.
Remember to use a potting material by choosing a pot that has sufficient drainage holes.

Water:

Well, there is the correct saying of what amount of plant should it water but ensure to water the plant evenly and thoroughly, saturate the soil between watering.
When the soil gets dried out half it’s time to water the plant more.
Make the plant to soil to dry out when it’s kept in low light.
Avoid watering the Bird’s Nest Fern directly into the center where new growth starts to emerge because this will raise the condition of root rot occurring.

Temperature and Humidity:

Bird’s Nest Fern loves to grow in average temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees.
The plant does have a wax cuticle on its foliage which retains moisture well.
The plant can tolerate the average home humidity leaves but there are also some saying it will thrive in higher humidity leaves such as 40 percent or higher.
The Bird’s Nest Fern is a tropical plant and if it’s not getting perfect humidity, you need to buy a humidifier or mist the plant when you feel it’s a dry climate.

Fertilizer:

There is a need for fertilizing Bird’s Nest Fern once a month during active growing seasons such as spring, summer, and early fall.
Bird’s Nest Fern loves to grow in a mixture of two-part water and one-part liquid fertilizer.
You need to apply the fertilizer into the soil but avoid fertilizing the fronds as fertilizer can burn it.
Must stop fertilizer the plant during autumn and then again start in the spring.

Pruning Tips:

Talking about pruning Bird’s Nest Ferns and luckily they are low-maintenance.
Bird’s Nest Fern needs to be trimmed occasionally if you find any outer leaves turn brown and die off.
While trimming the plant you need to focus on the base of the plant where just avoid disturbing any new growth in the center of the plant.
Here you need to use sharp, sterilized pruning shears or scissors while you are pruning a bird’s nest.

Potting/Re-Potting Tips:

It’s important to maintain a regular fertilizing schedule but mainly during the active growing seasons such as spring, summer, and early fall. For that, you need to use a mixture of two parts water and one part liquid fertilizer to have proper growth. Make sure to spread the fertilizer on the soil but carefully avoid the fronds which will damage them. Decide to pause the fertilizing routine during autumn and resume fertilizing in the spring.

While deciding to potting or repotting bird’s nest fern first select a container having proper drainage. However, bird’s nest ferns don’t require repotting but if having a root space issue you need to repot. They need to be repotted when they’ve grown and do need a larger container. The plant is repotted due to the size issue during every two or three years.

To ensure bird’s nest fern thrives well, use a pot that’s large enough to grow the plant in it. To repot loosen the plant from the previous pot in which take care not having damaged roots. After which place the plant in the new container to maintain the same depth as the old pot. Remember to surround the root ball using fresh potting soil.

Types of Bird’s Nest Fern:

The following are some different types of bird’s nest ferns having different leaf shapes:

Asplenium nidus ‘Crispy Wave’: They used to grow in sword-shaped ruffled leaves.
Asplenium nidus ‘Osaka’: They used to grow in Narrow, strap-like leaves with rippled edges
Asplenium nidus ‘Antiquum’: They used to grow in Wavy leaf margins
Asplenium nidus ‘Victoria’: They used to grow in Long, wavy, tongue-shaped fronds

Propagating Bird’s Nest Fern:

For beginners, it’s quite tricky to propagate Bird’s nest ferns in which there are many who purchase them from nursery instead of propagating them that use to save some money.

The propagation takes place by spores that look like having fuzzy brown spots on the undersides of fronds. The perfect time to propagate Bird’s nest ferns is when the spores look plump and fuzzy. The following are some steps to that will help you in propagating Bird’s nest ferns:

You need to have a small paper bag, a small dish, sphagnum moss, and plastic wrap or a clear plastic bag.
The next step is to collect the spores to cut off a fron with fuzzy spores and keep them in a paper bag for some days which will make spores into the bag.
After that, moisten a handful of sphagnum moss with water then place it in a small dish of water to keep it moist but avoid a waterlogged situation.
Now shake the spores from the bag to collect into sphagnum moss.
It’s time to cover the dish of mass using plastic wrap or fasten a clear plastic bag covering it with a rubber band.
At last, keep the dish of moss in a warm, shaded spot in which keep the dish filled with water and mist the moss if they are not moist.
The process of germination will occur in a few weeks.

Final words:

Hence, after reading this information you know ways to grow and care for Bird nest ferns so that your plant doesn’t suffer from any Bird’s nest ferns problems.