Nice!! I love maidenhair fern but they're harder to find in my neck of the woods. Just make sure it doesn't dry out, because the moment the soil dried the leaves will brown. It's very quick compared to other plants. But it's so pretty, isn't it?

I don't have advice on the polka dot plant, haven't had one, but I would think it's fairly close in its needs to the fern. Enjoy- great finds!!

Both of those would do well in a terrarium setting. That's the only way I've been able to keep either alive for any amount of time.

So I don't have any type of cover but what if I fill the bottom of this dish with pebbles and water and then cover it with wet moss, of course placing the two on top

Sorry but no, no, no, no, no, pls no wet moss, as it will ROT your plants.

Juts pebbles in the saucer & leave the plants ON TOP of the pebbles so they're ON TOP of them, above the water, not sitting in it which will rot & kill them.

Oh okay thank you so much for letting me know. So the moss will cause rot even though it'd only be the pots touching it?

Moss is water absorbent & RETENTIVE, the opposite of what succulents wants as they tend to store their own water already in their fat, fleshy leaves.

Oh, this isn't for my succulents. It's for my new maidenhair fern in the picture

Still no moss. A pebble tray as described above would be ok. You don't want the plants sitting in water.

Okay thank you

So I've rearranged my plant settings. I put the pots on flipped over saucers to separate them from the wet moss. I couldn't find anything tall enough for my fern so I filled up two glass bottles with water and put a clear container on top on them to contain some humidity. The reason for the bottles being full is so that they'll evaporate into the container and create more humidity. I'm feeling it's a pretty good idea but if anyone thinks that it's going to harm them somehow let me know.

Pebble trays are pretty ineffective at raising the humidity....unless you cover the whole thing (plant and pebble tray). So, I kinda like your setup!

Cool thanks!

It's a very cool idea, but you don't really get to see your plants! I lived in SoCal and had a maidenhair and it did very well til I had to move! The key is keeping the soil moist, not too soggy and to never let the soil dry out. So I just wanted to say that it is possible to keep them alive in the desert!

Yea that's why I wanted a clear bell shaped glass or something similar :/ but I'd rather have it alive haha. How did you water yours Sara, by soaking it from the bottom of the pot or pooring it in from the top? Also did you do anything to increase the humidity around the plant?

FWIW A cake stand with a glass lid make a very affordable cloche.

My mom has one made out of crystal, she'd never let me use it for plants though hahah

Cloches are very cheap online. They used to be $50, 20 or so years ago, now you can get a nice one for $20.

Why, why why are you using the moss? It collects dirt, germs, bacteria & invites rot. Are you trying to hide something under it?

Hi Rhizo,

Must respectfully disagree abt pebble trays, I use them a lot under things other than my succulents. All my Hoyas reside on pebble trays, my tropicals too even my holiday cacti are on pebble trays. I don't mist at all, just pebble trays.

I'm using the moss for humidity since it retains water, it isn't touching the pot so I thought it wouldn't be a problem. I'm just trying to create more humidity for this type of fern because of its special need for high humidity. I'm going to get a little terrarium that's house shaped though so problem solved.

Karen,

just curuous, have you used a hygrometer to test the effectiveness of pebble trays with water?

I'm curious how much they'd actually raise the RH around the plant.

No Dave. never had any need to. My Hoyas are good enough barometer for me, maybe it's helpful that I have many of them together, grouped near each other.

Try it sometime, it helps, or I wouldn't still be doing it.

Sorry Tehya, I hear your reasoning, but personally, I feel the moss carries more risk of potential harm than potential benefit.

If it's not touching the pot, it's likely touching both the plant & the soil isn't it?

Teyha- I kept my maidenhair alive just by checking it every day. I would stick my finger in the soil about an 1" down, and if it felt on the dry side I would water it. I guess I never really thought much about it at the time, because that's what I do with all my plants- make the rounds either in morning or evening. I don't remember misting it.

The difference was, I had it in a ceramic pot (these have negatives for other plants) that drains a LOT slower than the clay pots you have. I think I'd switch to a pretty ceramic pot. I don't normally give this advice, except for this instance.

The clay pots wick moisture away from the plants and that's not what you want. I think of clay pot for other types of plants such as hoya or jade, not ferns, because they can dry out quickly then whammo! There goes your fern.

I kept the maidenhair on the kitchen island, which was away from direct light but we had giant windows, and it did so well there (plus I was reminded to check it).

Edit: Here was my plant. Makes me miss it a lot! But I wanted to show you can do it!

Sara,

Wow it was so big! Thank you for the advice about the pots, now I just have to find one.

Karen,

Okay thank you for letting me know about the downsides of moss. I had no idea that it could harm plants before.

Karen,

i was just curious if it brought the RH up a significant amount. My guess is probably not.

i use a humidifier and have a hygrometer showing me the RH. My plant room stays around 70% this time of year.

The common advice is that pebble trays and/or misting helps humidity loving plants. Realistically, that doesn't necessarily do it. Try it, see how it goes.

I have not had good luck with pebble trays; probably needed to use a larger size.

For my maidenhair fern, I do mist it as frequently as I can, and keep it in the highest humidity room in the house. And keep the soil moist.

*SaraM~ what a pretty plant and pot!

Sara: Do you think this pot will work as a good ceramic pot for my fern? I'll clean it out first of course.

Tehya- that's a nice ceramic bowl but it would be too shallow and wide. That would be more fitting for a collection of small succulents, for example.

I think you could go up to a 6" pot, just a normal shape, nothing too shallow. That's where I would start. I would avoid though, any pot that has an attached saucer because the drain holes are usually very small and you need good drainage to avoid a host of other problems. (The drain hole in the above bowl is a good size to look for, as reference)

Darn. Okay thank you, I'll be trying to get my hands on one.

My new little house came in today. Should I cut the fern in the places where it is pressed against the glass or will it be fine? Should I add anything to create humidity? My pictures aren't loading now so I'll update as soon as it works