Fronds for life
Lush houseplants such as ferns add a calm energy to your home – and they’re the height of fashion right now, says Monty Don
ONE of the many advantages of growing older (knees are not among them – it is always a gardener’s knees that go first) is that you become immune to the vagaries of fashions. Sooner or later what has been around before in your life is hailed as the latest thing and then disappears. But, for what it’s worth, I’m told that houseplants are trendy. Which means I am right up there with the latest trends because the Don family has been on a bit of a houseplant splurge recently, although this is mostly down to my wife and her impeccable good taste.
On the whole I prefer houseplants that do not rely upon flowers for their effect. Having rich green foliage growing healthily indoors adds a dimension of vibrancy that flowers do not provide. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule and everyone will have a different opinion, but by and large foliage plants are easier to grow in average living spaces and create a calm energy that radically improves the human condition.
Ferns are among the most accommodating of plants for low light levels and either extreme humidity such as a bathroom or very dry conditions. The bird’s nest fern, Asplenium nidus, both in its regular form and the wavy-edged ‘Crispy Wave’, has thick, glossy leaves that are very tolerant of a wide range of conditions other than direct sun. Ideally it will be placed in an area with a constant temperature of about 20°C and high humidity. Outside a bathroom this means a daily misting, and a hand-held mister is an important accessory for many houseplants. It should be watered 2-3 times a week in summer and around once a week during the winter.
I love the delicacy of the maidenhair fern, Adiantum raddianum ‘Fragrantissimum’. No plant has more seemingly fragile foliage yet it is, given the right conditions, quite robust. It comes from shady tropical and subtropical regions of Australasia and America and needs to be constantly moist – so is ideal for a small bathroom. The roots should be moist but not wet so do not leave it standing in a saucer after watering.
We have two asparagus ferns: A. densiflorus which is from the ‘Sprengeri’ group and has distinct plumes, and A. setaceus (aka A. plumosus), which has very similar foliage to the vegetable asparagus. Both of these like to be above 10°C and to be kept misted but not wet in winter, with more frequent watering in summer. Along with the maidenhair fern, these two plants add a really good lightness of touch to any collection of houseplants you may have.
We have a couple of spider plants, Chlorophytum comosum ‘Variegatum’. One is modest but the other has really thrived over the past year and has lots of plantlets growing from dangling stems. These plantlets can be cut and placed onto a pot of free-draining compost, where they will quickly root. Or they’ll form roots in a jar of water while still attached to the parent and then can be cut and potted on to make a new plant. As well as being easy to propagate, the spider plant is one of the easiest houseplants to grow, as it tolerates almost any situation and puts up with neglect. It can handle temperatures down to freezing but doesn’t like to be too hot, 18°C is plenty, and should be out of direct sunlight. The biggest problem is overwatering, but do mist it daily.
Finally, we have succumbed to an aspidistra. These became immensely popular in the Victorian era because they will grow in deep shade and, as long as it is frost free, a wide range of temperatures. Like so many houseplants, the greatest harm is from overwatering and it can be left dry for quite long periods. It is quite expensive and slow growing but will last a lifetime.