(Swipe to see after)I had a beautiful green asparagus fern in my vivarium, but it browned and died within 3 weeks. I cut off the dead stems daily until I was left with 3 green ones and they died too. Its planted in well draining soil, I watered when it got almost dry, and sprayed it with water daily, there was a lot of humidity in the enclosure, I do have a grow light too as there's no light coming through the window in my room, does anyone have any tips or advice as I'd like to try again? Thank you
by tekno5rokko
3 Comments
All I can say from my limited experience (I’ve use these sparingly over the last few years in terrariums and now in my Plaudarium) these ones are finicky for sure. Yes they need well draining soil, but I feel like they do better with some moisture retention, so not letting it dry out completely. the crown (top of the root ball) does better above the substrate line- so don’t plant too deep. Also stable humidity seams to help. Lastly, I would never spray/water the leaves directly. That’s my no. 1 watering tip for any plant, even if in an enclosed system that gets condensation on the the leaves.
One aspect I don’t usually look at but might be worth considering: what is the acidity of the substrate it’s in? Check to see if that’s in or out of the range recommended for these plants. Google might help on this, but don’t be afraid to try it again after a few adjustments to see if that helps!
I’ve never had luck with any types of ferns for vivariums with geckos. I’ve only ever had luck with frogs since ferns need high humidity. They are found in wetter areas and I find that it’s not watering that’s the main issue, it’s the environment. I would recommend other plants unless you can keep the humidity to 60%+ all the time.
It might be help to know it’s not a fern. It enjoys full sun. They are known for dropping needles when anything upsets them, such as low light. They’re only called ferns because they have a feathery delicate appearance, they don’t really act like ferns at all.
Perhaps try a very bright light, of just swap it with a fern.
Yours turned brown in just 3 weeks – that seems fast. I wonder if the roots got broken/damaged? Or it got too dry and was too young/small to tolerate it? Did it have tubers? (Looks like little potatoes on the roots) Those help it survive drought.