Boston Fern Care for Commercial Growers
Maximize summer downtime in your commercial greenhouse and add a desirable plant to your inventory with the Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Massii’). Planting these rooted plugs in the summer gives you a superior product to offer customers in the fall or spring. Our Massii variety reaches 4-6’ wide with individual fronds 2-3’ long!
Benefits for Your Customer
Customers will love the full cascading habit of this Sword Fern cultivar. This plant excels in hanging baskets, thriving in humidity in partial to full shade. It offers attractive foliage and low maintenance, bringing texture and color to a front porch, patio, or landscape.
When To Order
Order Boston Fern rooted liners from early to mid-summer and plan for a long growing season. A 10-inch container takes 9-10 months to finish. Growing over the summer maximizes productivity during a quiet time for your greenhouse and enables you to offer a standout product to customers in the spring.
How to Grow Boston Ferns in Your Greenhouse
Boston Fern is a low-maintenance plant that requires little care in the greenhouse. We’ll provide you with some tips for getting started.
Planting
Begin by planting one rooted plug in each 4-inch container in the summer. Use well-drained soil and completely bury the ellepot in the center of the container. After 2-3 months, transplant 4-inch containers into final 10-inch baskets that finish in an additional six months. Baskets will begin to look finished in about three months but will really look their best in about six months.
Technical Growing Information
For the best results with Boston Fern rooted liners, plant one plug per container in well-drained, loamy soil with a pH of 5.0-5.5 and constant feed of 150-200 ppm N. These plants will thrive in a wide range of temperatures, from 65℉ to 95℉. Water at the base of each plant in the morning, allowing the soil to dry throughout the day. Watering in the middle of the day during full sun can damage fronds. Ferns don’t require pinching or PGRs and will need enough space around each container for foliage to receive airflow and sunlight.
Pests & Disease to Monitor
Brown scales, caterpillars, and whiteflies can affect Boston Ferns. Monitor your greenhouse for pests and implement integrated pest management to best address any problems that arise.
Boston Ferns aren’t prone to disease, but botrytis can affect any greenhouse plants during short humid days. Prevent this fungal infection by watering at the base of each plant in the morning, providing airflow in your greenhouse, and spacing plants so sunlight can penetrate to the soil level of each plant. Treat botrytis with Medallion or Banrot as a drench according to the label’s instructions.
Good to Know
In the Greenhouse
Boston Ferns are resilient and will continue to succeed during heat, drought, and cold. If necessary, they can be held over from one season to the next with extra care to protect them from frost and keep them healthy. While this isn’t the best way to grow ferns, it’s a great way to avoid throwing away plants.
For Your Customer
Customers can grow this plant as an annual, but with minimal extra maintenance, Boston Ferns will overwinter indoors.
- Cover plants outdoors when the season isn’t over, but temperatures threaten to dip near freezing.
- Wash ferns by hosing them down and allowing them to air dry completely on a warm day.
- Prune the fern to the size and shape you desire and clean out any dead or dying fronds.
- Choose a cool location with indirect light for your fern to survive the winter: a basement, garage, or cool spare bedroom will do. Direct sunlight will burn the fronds.
- Water sparingly, and don’t fertilize your fern over the winter, as it’s not actively growing.
We would love to hear from you with any questions you have. We enjoy supporting your success and helping you grow your greenhouse business
