When my boyfriend and I decided to get some houseplants right before the shelter-in-place order took place, we went to Home Depot. We did a bit of research about beginner-friendly plants – those that are easy to take care of. As we walked around the store, we found a maidenhair fern. I didn’t know the name, but I knew it was fern because there was the tag. I didn’t recall that this plant was a beginner-friendly plant, but it was so beautiful that we decided to get it anyway. We also got the Umbrella plant and Anthurium that day.
In the beginning, I didn’t do much research about our plants. My boyfriend did some research, and we decided to water all our plants only when the top inch of the soil is completely dry. It was a HUGE MISTAKE for our maidenhair fern, but we didn’t know that until a lot of its leaves turned brown and dried out after about a month. It was upsetting. I cut off all of the dead leaves and stems. It was challenging in itself, and I accidentally cut off some of the healthy ones! After that, the plant looked bare and sad. I apologize to you, my maidenhair fern.
I decided to do my research on this plant to prevent this from happening again. What I quickly found out was that I needed to water it more often. This plant was very different from our other plants (Pothos, Umbrella Plant, Anthurium) that it likes moist soil and humidity. So now I water it almost every day, making sure to take out any excess. I also mist the leaves, which I am a bit dubious about its effectiveness at the moment, but the plant is recovering. It will probably take a while before it gets back to its full condition.
What I learned from taking care of multiple plants is that plants are just like people. They have different personalities, and one method doesn’t fit all. If your current approach isn’t working for a plant or a person, you can change it. It has the strength to thrive as long as you find a method that works for it.