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My botany mentor in Seattle swore this fern would survive my dark apartment
Last January I moved into this basement unit near Greenlake that gets maybe 2 hours of direct light a day. My friend Sarah, who runs a small plant shop in Capitol Hill, told me a Japanese painted fern would thrive even in low light with just a weekly misting. I was skeptical because I've killed like 6 succulents before (they're supposed to be easy, right?). But I grabbed one from her shop for $14 and stuck it in the corner by my bathroom window. Fast forward 11 months now, that fern has actually tripled in size and started sending out new fronds this week. It's got these silvery-green leaves with purple veins that look amazing against my gray walls. Has anyone else had good luck with a specific fern in a dark room, or did I just get lucky with this one?
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david_henderson61mo ago
That fern's doing well because Japanese painted ferns are tougher than most people think. They're not like those fussy maidenhairs that drop leaves if you look at them wrong. A friend of mine has one in a north-facing room with barely any light and it's been pushing out new growth for two years straight. You probably got a healthy plant that just happened to match your conditions, which is more luck than the fern being some magic low-light champion.
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