Plants
Dwarf Boston fern
Nephrolepis exaltata 'Fluffy Ruffles'
EasyFine in a closed jar
A dense, compact Boston fern. Keep the soil always damp.
What the simulation uses
- Light
- 2,500 to 10,000 lux
- The brightness it grows well in.
- Humidity
- 60 to 90 % RH
- Air moisture it is happy in; below the lower end it dries out.
- Temperature
- 16 to 24 °C
- Comfortable range; outside it growth slows.
- Dies at
- below 2 or above 32 °C
- Days beyond these temperatures kill it.
- Soil pH
- 5.5 to 6.5 pH
- Soil acidity it prefers.
- Grows up
- 2 cm/month
- How fast it gains height in good conditions.
- Spreads
- 2 cm/month
- How fast its edge creeps outwards.
- Copes with wet
- fair
- How well it stands soggy soil; poor means rot comes quickly.
- Copes with still air
- good
- Sealed jars have still air; poor means grey mould finds it.
- Copes with shade
- good
- How well it holds on in dim light.
- Copes with drying
- fair
- How well it survives the jar drying out.
- Water use
- 0.11 ml/cm²/day
- Water drawn up from its roots per cm² of leaves in room air; a sealed jar cuts this to a fraction and returns it down the glass.
- Leaf drop
- 5 %/month
- Share of its leaves it sheds each month as litter for the cleanup crew.
- Soft leaves
- no
- Soft new growth that hungry isopods will nibble.
- Full size
- 25 cm tall, 32.5 cm wide
- Its size when grown, before the lid stops it.
Care
- Day length
- 12 to 14 h
- Substrate
- Moist
What kills it
- drying out
- dry air
- waterlogging in cool conditions
Description
Dwarf forms of the Boston fern stay small and bushy. They like air near 80 percent humidity, which suits a large closed tank. Runners keep it spreading, so it will outgrow a small jar.
Also called Fluffy Ruffles fern, 'Fluffy Duffy', 'Marissa', sword fern.
Estimated, where sources were thin: dwarf cultivar size; growth rates; ph.