Rainbow Fern

Rainbow Fern Care

Calochlaena Dubia

What is the plant

Calochlaena dubia, commonly known as soft bracken, false bracken, common ground fern or rainbow fern, is a small Australian fern in the treefern family Dicksoniaceae. It is very common within its range, and often seen growing under eucalyptus forest, often on the poorer quality soils. It is an easy plant to grow in the garden.

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Humidity

Normal

Lighting

Part Sun

Temperature

min 11°C

Hardiness zone

6 - 10a

Difficulty

Medium

Hibernation

Cold Period

How to Care for the Plant

Water
Requires consistently moist soil; do not let dry out between waterings.
Pruning
To improve their appearance, you should prune out any brown or yellow fronds from indoor ferns. Pruning out these dead fronds also improves airflow around the plant, which helps reduce fungal or mold problems. If you find your indoor fern's fronds frequently die back, check the soil.
Fertilizer
Fertilize monthly year-round with a half-strength liquid fertilizer. It's best to only repot when your plant is root-bound, and preferably in the spring. Repot in a rich, high quality soil, such as a potting soil amended with 25% compost.

Disease diagnosis

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Sunlight
Ferns require indirect sunlight.
Soil
Ferns prefer potting soil with good drainage and high organic content. A potting mix should have peat moss or sphagnum for moisture retention, sand or gravel for drainage, and sterilized bagged garden loam or potting soil.
Temperature
On the coldest end of the scale, hardy ferns can survive temperatures down to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Container
Use plastic pots, which don't dry out as quickly as clay pots. The latter are not recommended for many ferns indoors, unless you use the pot in pot method as described above. A clay pot surrounded by moss then the ceramic or plastic pot on the outside is probably ideal.
Additional
Enzootic hematuria, the most common form of bracken fern poisoning, primarily affects cattle and less frequently affects sheep. It is characterized by intermittent hematuria and anemia. Poisoning most often occurs during late summer when other feed is scarce, or when animals are fed hay containing bracken fern.
Popularity
21 people already have this plant 6 people have added this plant to their wishlists