Do you know that in folklore, Boston Ferns indicate that fairies are nearby and symbolize sincerity?
Boston Ferns have several common names like sword fern, fish-borne fern, ladder fern, etc., which explains their wide acceptance. With that said, Boston Fern benefits are beyond its beauty.
Generally, Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) helps purify the air, reduces noise, lessens stress, and serves Feng Shui purposes. Besides, this fern plant is non-toxic to pets and makes a great houseplant and office plant.
The sword-shaped green fronds elegantly arch as it ages, giving it a decorative appearance if placed on a pedestal or displayed in a basket.
Boston Fern is a classic, versatile houseplant that can thrive indoors.
Thus, if you wish to leverage Boston Fern benefits fully, you’re at the right place to start.
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7 Untold Benefits of Boston Fern
Initially, the fern plants were collected at Royal Botanic Gardens in 1793 and then traveled to America.
In the 19th-century Victorian era, Boston Ferns grew popular houseplants with the Kentia (Howea) palm.
Only learning history yields nothing, so it’s time to dig out some potential benefits of Boston Ferns.
1. Purify Air
Various electronic appliances, heating, and cooling devices are used to maintain a modern-day room. Such gadgets forbid fresh air flow, inducing suffocation.
It is stunning how ferns and other plants cleanse the air, soil, and water through phytoremediation.
According to an article published in MDPI, Boston Fern is the potential to facilitate longer-term absorption of more gaseous contaminants (xylene, toluene, and formaldehyde).
The contaminants get absorbed via roots and leaves, and then the microorganisms break down the volatile organic compound (VOC), thereby removing the air toxins.
So, Boston Fern tends to improve air quality like other houseplants.
2. Serve Noise Absorption
Generally, traffic and other metropolitan noise pollution are harsh to bear while living around.
Thus, planting tall trees around the factories is common practice in many countries. You can also create that magic with Boston Fern if your neighbors are always involved in an oral fight.
According to an article by Building and Environment, Boston Ferns can reduce the intensity of sound waves by deflecting good energy through the vibration of their flexible structure.
There are three different ways that plants interact with incident sound waves resulting in noise cancellation from the environment by deflection, refraction, and absorption.
Fun fact! Boston Fern can block up to 98% of the incident acoustic energy.
Besides, the species, size of plants, leaf structure, and surface area determine the level of sound absorption.
So, learn what houseplants you are growing indoors, except Boston Ferns.
3. Offer Feng Shui Value
Have you ever heard of Feng Shui? It is the idea of how the placement of things can bring a positive atmosphere and luxury.
As per the Bagua map (Feng Shui energy map), Boston Ferns in the southeast corners of the room or home can maximize luck. These ferns are exceptional at both absorbing and producing positive energy.
Feng Shui is a Chinese tradition to harmonize individuals with surrounding environments.
This way, Boston Fern’s Feng Shui brings good fortune, prosperity, and success.
Feng Shui believes that Boston Ferns help produce and restore vital life forces (chi or qi).
This only happens through Boston ferns’ capacity to remove toxic fumes like formaldehyde by soaking them. It might also be a metaphor for how plants can ease our tension.
An empty room or a room with sharp edges and corners supposedly houses negative energy and spirits.
Adding Boston Ferns in such corners and spaces can engross the pessimism and radiating alacrity.
Nevertheless, Boston Fern’s green foliage kept at an entrance gives welcoming vibes.
4. Easy to Maintain
Wanting to baby a plant but scared of amenability? If so, Boston Fern might be a match for you.
Although these are tropical plants, you need not worry about watering these plants when you are traveling or away from home.
But you need to shield Boston Fern from mealy bugs, fungi, and caterpillars.
As long as this Feng Shui plant receives the proper care, there might not be any problem of root rot and wilting of Boston Ferns.
Simply following the care requirements below can create magic!
| Care Requirements | Optimum Conditions |
|---|---|
| Light | Medium to bright indirect light of 2-4 hours per day |
| Water | Twice a week in the summer Once a week in the winter |
| Temperature | 55-75°F |
| Humidity | 50-60% |
| Soil | Moist well-drained potting soil with pH of 5.0-5.5 |
| Fertilizer | Monthly balanced liquid houseplant fertilizer (20-20-20) |
| Repotting | Once every two to three years When roots start poking out of soil |
| Pruning | Not quite often Needed only when dead, old, or discolored leaves appear (spring and summer) |
If you do not want your Boston Fern to look disgusting, learn how to Trim Boston Fern.
5. Easy to Propagate
Technically, there are two methods of propagation in Boston Fern, i.e., by spores (sexual) and mother plants (asexual).
It might be tricky for beginners to get proper conditions for spores to germinate in contrast to the vegetative method.
For this, use a sharp spade to divide the root mass as neatly as possible. Re-pot it in a pot with loamy soil adding compost.
If there are runners, cut at the nearest possible point of the parent plant, making sure some portion of the roots are intact.
That’s your Boston Fern ready to grow its colony.
Be careful while choosing the runners from the mother plant. Avoid brown, old leaves, or else your fern starts deteriorating.
Besides, make sure the pot is big enough for the root to thrive well.
6. Serve Great DIY Interior
Not every indoor plant is suitable to be hanging, but a Boston Fern can fulfill the dream!
Hanging Boston Ferns becomes more efficient due to their shallow root, arched structure, and slower growth.
Individual frond averages around two to three feet in length and has soft arches. Also, the rounded growth and flexibility make the Boston Fern one of the most preferred hanging plants.
Despite their inability to climb or grow tendrils, Boston Ferns in the hanging basket behave well on getting proper airflow.
Boston Fern grows up to 7 feet tall in Florida and the West Indies, shadowing an entire person.
Tips to Prepare DIY Hanging Boston Fern
- First, collect the hanging wire basket from the nearby shop.
- Let the sphagnum soak in warm water for the moss to get completely wet in the bucket.
- Squeeze the excess water back into the bucket.
- Create a layer of moss about an inch-thick inside of the wire basket.
- Cover the basket along the sides, creating a one to the two-inch wall on the inside of it.
- After moss molding to the wireframe from bottom to top, line the moss with a piece of black garbage or plastic bag to prevent the soil from drying out.
- Poke some holes in the plastic and pour the mix combined with the compost.
- You need to fill about a 3rd to a half of the basket with potting mix and place the plant in the middle.
- Now, hydrate the plant lightly and hang the basket wherever it receives the bright indirect light.
7. Promote Therapeutic Effect
Doctors often suggest pursuing gardening as a hobby to relax. Having indoor plants like Boston Fern can reduce stress and help promote productivity.
Boston Ferns may not answer back, but their green foliages make your mood light and exhilarated.
Research conducted by the National Library of Medicine affirms that indoor plants help neutralize psychological stress resulting from mental work.
Houseplants help suppress sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and diastolic blood and promote natural and soothing feelings.
The presence of greens like Boston Fern creates a zen environment, balancing mood when anxious.
Health Considerations to Keep in Mind
A pet owner can easily relate to the chaos of having a pet and plants together as the plant’s toxins and allergic reactions to the pet are an albatross around your neck.
Wind down, Boston Ferns are pet safe and, luckily, are human-safe too.
According to ASPCA, Boston Fern is non-toxic to dogs and cats.
The non-toxic nature of the plant is also one of Boston Fern benefits.
But this does not mean that you can allow your pets and children to nibble on the parts of the plant.
If your pets start devouring Boston Fern, they might experience some side effects (i.e., upset stomach, vomiting, and diarrhea). The same can happen to us humans as well.
If you find your pets suffering these symptoms, immediately visit the vet nearby in such cases or get help from the hotlines below.
- Pet Poison Helpline: (855) 764-7661
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center: (888) 426-4435
Where to Buy Boston Ferns?
After Boston Fern benefits, you may wish to buy plants, and fortunately, it is easy to get hands-on with Boston Ferns.
Visit a nursery nearby, or order them from the online stores below.
| Shops | Shipping details |
|---|---|
| Amazon | Delivery within 3-5 days |
| Chelsea Garden Centre | Ships within 2 days |
| Walmart | Ships within 2 days |
| Calloway's nursery | Ships within few days |
| Lively root | Ships within few days |
Conclusion
Boston Ferns boast of sword-shaped and blue-green foliage that ornate the hanging basket.
They can live for decades, providing plantsmen with benefits ranging from air purification to noise cancellation.
Its fish-bone like fronds stands out, making an incredible addition to enhance the aesthetics of a room.
Apart from these benefits, you can easily populate Boston Ferns in your mini jungle. Even if you are Neophytes, Boston Fern is worth growing.
If you own Asparagus Fern Flowers, learn what you can do with them.
Keep Gardening!
