Northern Maidenhair drooping
Quick answer
If your Northern Maidenhair is drooping, the most likely cause is: Indoor maidenhair ferns, including the deciduous northern maidenhair (Adiantum pedatum), need 60 per cent or higher humidity to thrive because their delicate young fronds have very little cuticle and lose water faster than most houseplants; when the surrounding air falls below that threshold the new pinnae dehydrate and shrivel before they can fully expand.
Start here:
- 1. Move the plant into a terrarium or set the pot on a humidity tray filled with pebbles and water so the air around the fronds stays moist.
- 2. Grow maidenhairs in naturally humid rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms, or mist the foliage frequently during winter when indoor heating dries the air.
Why Northern Maidenhair is drooping
Adiantum pedatum
Indoor maidenhair ferns, including the deciduous northern maidenhair (Adiantum pedatum), need 60 per cent or higher humidity to thrive because their delicate young fronds have very little cuticle and lose water faster than most houseplants; when the surrounding air falls below that threshold the new pinnae dehydrate and shrivel before they can fully expand.
How to help Northern Maidenhair that is drooping
- 1
Move the plant into a terrarium or set the pot on a humidity tray filled with pebbles and water so the air around the fronds stays moist.
- 2
Grow maidenhairs in naturally humid rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms, or mist the foliage frequently during winter when indoor heating dries the air.
Keep this Northern Maidenhair from ending up drooping again
Site maidenhairs in a terrarium or a humid room such as a kitchen or bathroom, keep them out of drafts from heating vents, and raise humidity whenever new fronds begin to emerge so the pinnae never desiccate before they unfurl.