The Hanging Plant Mistake That's Killing Your Boston Fern

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon have been considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, pointing to a long tradition of humans sprucing up their spaces with beautiful suspended flora. You might be looking to bring some life to your home with a hanging wonder like the Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata), a low-maintenance herbaceous perennial that's native to the American tropics, but commonly grown as a houseplant outside its typical USDA hardiness range in zones 10 through 13. While you may be tempted to hang your plant nice and high in the room, given that Boston fern fronds can grow upwards of 4 feet long, this would be a mistake — especially if your home runs on central air, with AC vents set near the ceiling. All that dry air created by the air-conditioning could well be killing your plant.

There are a few key spots you never want to place your Boston fern, especially next to AC units. You'll also find that the potting soil will dry out faster, and because this often contains peat moss, which becomes hard as it dries, it can make it more difficult to re-hydrate. On top of that, Boston ferns, in particular, might be more prone to scale or spider mite attacks if the air is too dry. Even in the best places to hang plants around your home, going too high means it's harder to access the pot for watering or misting, which puts your Boston fern at greater risk of drying out. Luckily, there are some easy fixes to this problem.

If you have your Boston fern hanging in a particular location because of how it accentuates other features in the room, the first and most obvious solution to your plant care problem is getting a step stool to make it easier to access your fern. Avoid alternatives like standing up on a dining room chair and follow step stool safety guidelines, to keep from hurting yourself. To increase the humidity around your plant, you can set up a pebble tray, or some kind of plate filled with rocks and shallow water, nearby. Plus, there are plenty of trendy humidity trays you can DIY for your prized plants. Similarly, investing in a humidifier, could also be a good solution.

Another alternative is to repot your fern into a self-watering hanging basket that will cut back on your water bill over summer, and means you'll have to replenish less often. You might even want to get one of those lovely watering globes to insert into the pot, to keep your plant well-hydrated over a longer period. Finally, while lowering the plant pot by tying it to a longer rope isn't always going to be the ideal aesthetic choice, there are some clever devices you can get, like these retractable plant hanger pulleys from Lythor, that will make accessing your plant when it needs watering, that much easier.