Many Nephrolepis species are at least part time epiphytes in the wild, and this pantropical species is no exception, hence its ability to grow well in hanging baskets. In its native habitats it is most commonly a terrestrial, often in low swampy areas. So go ahead with the heavier mix if it will reduce your watering schedule. Many people don't realize that this fern is in fact native to central and southern Florida where it can grow into a formidably large specimen. Yours looks very happy! PF

That is a nice looking fern! I have a nephro, its much smaller than this, and has brown tips to the old leaves.

Thanks, PF. The basket flipped over in the wind the same night I posted, so I had to repot it before I got a reply. I ended up using 3 parts dry/lightweight mix, 1 part MG Moisture Control, and 1 part perlite.

I got a chance to examine the mix a couple times because the wind blew it over twice more and broke two new pots. I finally put it in a big azalea pot, which seems to be the only thing with a low enough center of gravity to keep it upright - those fronds are like sails!

The mix is rich and moist, but airy, not soggy or waterlogged right after watering, a clump falls apart easily when wet. I hope that doesn't turn out to be too dry, but after several days it still doesn't need watering even though it's in a clay pot. I don't think it uses its roots much for water outdoors in this humidity. I looked up 'epiphyte' and I'm guessing this one is more in the epiphyte phase than swamp phase. It really needs to grow some roots, though I do plan to run a humidifier indoors.

GreenLarry: Besides this I also have Nephrolepis exaltata "Fluffy Ruffles" and "Bostoniensis Massii", Nephrolepis obliterata "Kimberly Queen", and Nephrolepis pendula "Long John". On all of them the oldest, smallest leaves get brown tips, then eventually start to yellow. I think it's because they're too short and get crowded out of getting enough light, or maybe they're just too old and the plant doesn't need them anymore. I'm really not sure, but they're not numerous, so I just trim them off if they get unsightly.

If the brown tips are so numerous that it's effecting most of the plant, I've done that to Boston-type ferns in the past a number of ways. I think the main problem was over-fertilizing with full strength high-nitrogen fertilizer for acid-loving plants (30-10-10). The only one that actually likes that is Kimberly Queen, but it also likes bright, hot sun, and a thorough soaking every day.

The shade-lovers are doing much better with water only when they turn grey-green (at 70% humidity once a week, maybe every 5 days if it's 100F or less humid) and only very dilute fertilizer (10 - 25% normal strength) maybe every six weeks at most. Since I haven't wanted to burn these plants listed above I haven't tried heavier feeding - maybe they can tolerate it, but these have been growing beautifully without it. They're on the east side of the house shaded by a large white oak that only lets through dappled light (25%) in early morning and bright shade the rest of the day.

I've also turned leaf tips brown by letting them stay out at night when it's too cold (below 50F), too much water (root rot), too little humidity, and physical injury from high winds or cats.

Regarding size, if you think your nephro is smaller than it should be, could it be getting too much sun? I bought an identical pair of Boston-type ferns, scientific name unknown, in April. One is in the place described above, the other is hanging under an apricot tree where it gets dappled 25% sun all day. The one in the shady spot has grown considerably larger overall; the fronds are much longer and wider. The one in the sunnier spot is healthy and not scorched, but it's a dwarfed version (20-24") of the other (30-36").