Yes, as long as you do it every few minutes.

A more practical solution would be to set up a small humidifier next to your ferns. Who the heck wants to spritz a house plant 300 times a day?

Not really, just briefly. You'd be better of using a humidity tray (aka pebble tray) & grouping your plants together, both are said to increase ambient humidity.

Just use a hydrospike or humidity mat. Constant moisture and constant humidity

Unless your humidity trays are in a very small enclosure with your plants, they are not going to provide much or any increase in ambient humidity. Sorry. They are a much touted "solution" that in reality does almost nothing in a standard home environment with standard air circulation.

agree! Humidity tray is a hoax, a myth that has been proven useless time and time and time again. you are better off using humidity mats with hydrospike.

Humidity mats, assuming you mean capillary mats, would be no more effective, as they are virtually the same thing. Hydrospikes have nothing at all to do with increasing ambient humidity.

Sorry to disagree about humidity trays. I use a lot of them & don't believe my Hoyas would do well w/out them. They certainly have helped my plants more than misting would have.

Yeah sure, a hoax per the guy who insists FLFs are rare, right.

Humidity trays a myth?? In what world??

Humidity or pebble trays DO increase ambient humidity!! Even staging a few glasses or jars of water in amongst your houseplants will increase humidity. In fact, just grouping your houseplants close together will increase humidity (all plants transpire and release water vapor). So will misting but not enough to make a measurable impact unless you do so very often. Any water source nearby - but something the plants are not sitting in directly - will help to elevate humidity. The closer to the plants, the greater the benefit/higher the humidity level.

Hydrospikes are an inefficient watering device or soil moisture monitor. They have absolutely NO impact on ambient humidity.

No matter the argument, a humidifier will do better than any of the methods above if you truly want to increase humidity.

Ive used a hygrometer with pebble trays and the RH only went up a couple percent.

Mike, stop. You haven’t a clue.

I dont want to argue with anyone anymore. So I will just change my answer to yes, pebble trays work And you should do it. It has been proven to work on hoyas. Hope this clarifies everything

Why not just say nothing at all if you don’t know?

Why even ask that question, given his posting history? :)

You’re absolutely right. I know better.

Imam, misting plants is not helpful in raising humidity. Ferns, in particular, may be susceptible to disease if the fronds are kept moist.

Some plants with waxy, succulent leaves can be misted as a way to wash the dust off but not on a regular basis.

Mike: pls do NOT put words in my mouth. I did not say it was proven. I shared my experience & OPINION which most folks here will recognize as just that opinion, not fact.

Iman,

Apologies for your thread going somewhat off track. As you can see, means of raising ambient humidity are a bit controversial; yes, there are mixed opinions on this.

Perhaps in your own neighborhood you might look around & try to find others who grow ferns there & learn what works best for them, maybe that would help.

Karen, I did not put any words in your mouth. I never referenced your name in fact.

Instead of looking for a solution to increase humidity only around your ferns, why not look for ways to raise the humidity in the entire room - 40-60% humidity promotes good health not only in most plants, but also in humans.

Below 40% humidity stimulates proliferation of dust and respiratory viruses, and above 65-70% of mold spores, fungi, and mildew. So yeah, even though I love my plants, I wouldn’t keep any that require humidity levels outside of the ideal range for me and my family; allergies, asthma, and resp. infections aren’t really something I’m willing to battle for the sake of growing plants indoors.

So then, if you have dry air, how can you raise humidity in a room in order to reach that sweet spot of 40-60%? The only way I know how is by using humidifiers; preferably the steam ones, since cool-mist humidifiers can potentially disperse germs and allergens in the aerosol. A pot of boiling water would also work.

However, before you do any of the above, you need to get a reliable hygrometer.