Nephrolepis exaltata Green Fantasy - Boston fern

Boston fern Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Green Fantasy’ is a houseplant which is decorative due to its trailing habit and its finely curly fronds. It forms a very full cushion of greenery that adds character to a shelf or a hanging basket. Comfortable in a bright and humid room, this variety can also be grown in a large terrarium.

Nephrolepis exaltata belongs to the Dryopteridaceae family. In the wild, it is found in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, from Florida to Brazil, often in humid woodlands, on rich soils or sometimes as an epiphyte on mossy trunks.
‘Green Fantasy’ is a compact selection of this Boston fern, prized for its fronds, which are particularly finely cut and curly. This variety forms a dense clump 35 to 40 cm in height, with a comparable width for a mature plant. The numerous, arching fronds are a very bright green, distinctly ruffled and curly. They are pinnate, composed of numerous tightly packed pinnae. Its growth is quite rapid under good conditions, the plant producing new offshoots and stolons which gradually thicken the clump. Like all ferns, it does not flower: it reproduces via spores.
The Boston fern is considered non-toxic to dogs and cats.

In a flat or house, this fern appreciates bright light without direct sun, a humid atmosphere and moderate temperatures, around 16 to 24 °C. It can be grown in a bright living room, a kitchen or a bathroom with a window, or even in a slightly heated conservatory. This plant remains accessible to beginners, but it has a few requirements regarding air humidity and regularity of watering.

Boston fern ‘Green Fantasy’ will thrive in a bright room that is not too dry or in a spacious terrarium. Its curly leaves form a light green backdrop. You can pair it with a Microsorum musifolium ‘Crocodyllus’, with its veined fronds reminiscent of reptile skin, to play with textures. Also, add a carpeting and mossy Selaginella apoda. In a more sculptural display, place it not far from a Pteris cretica ‘Albolineata’, with its cream-variegated fronds, or a small Fittonia ‘Joly Josan Red’. These plants, fond of humidity and soft light, create a very lively decoration on a bathroom console or near a window with a sheer curtain.