How to Grow & Care For Kimberly Queen Fern?

Written by Ivy
When it comes to the front porch ferns used to hang baskets, Kimberly queen fern is very popular. We can plant Kimberly queen fern near the entrance. It looks great and shows dark green leaves. Kimberly queen fern is neat and upright rather than spreading. It grows best all year round in a frost free climate.

In this article, I'll share my best care advice with you because taking care of Kimberly Queen Ferns can be difficult at times.

Kimberly Queen Fern Quick Info

Botanical/Scientific Name Nephrolepis Obliterata
Common Name Kimberley Queen Fern
When to Grow/Bloom/Harvest Be planted in the Spring
Uses Reducing indoor air pollution and toxins in your home
Origin Australia
Light Care Partial sun to low light conditions
Soil Care Good drainage
Temperature Care Between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit
Humidity Care Regular moisture when planted outdoors
Watering Keep 25% of your potting soil
Pruning Care Doesn't need pruning
Fertilizer Care General houseplant fertilizer
Propagation It is easily divided to form new plants
Toxic Safe for cats and dogs

Kimberly Queen Fern Care in Detail

Watering

We water Kimberly queen fern once every two or three days in the growing season to maintain air humidity and water it in the morning. In summer, we will water Kimberly queen fern once a day, place it in a ventilated place, select loose soil and let water penetrate into the roots. Water once a half month in winter to maintain soil moisture.

Soil

Ferns like to grow in loose, fertile and humus soil. In courtyard cultivation, if it is loam soil, it is ideal to plant Kimberly queen fern. If it is sandy soil, we also need to add adsorbed water substances such as peat soil in Kimberly queen fern soil to maintain soil humidity. Sandy soil is watered and fertilized frequently, but it has good aeration, and there will be no excessive salt accumulation. Silty sand has strong ability to absorb water and nutrition, but good ventilation conditions must be built. Generally, we can add some coarse organic matter, fine sand or crushed rock debris to Kimberly queen fern.

Light

Direct strong light will cause the leaves of Kimberly queen fern to fade green, turn yellow or even fall off. Kimberly queen fern only needs to scatter light, afraid of refracted light or strong light, and requires a shady environment. Generally, we can place Kimberly queen fern in the bright scattered light indoor for cultivation, and can not be directly exposed to strong light.

Temperature

The most suitable temperature for Kimberly queen fern during the day is 18 ~ 27 ℃, but 21 ~ 27 ℃ for some tropical species. Kimberly queen fern needs to have a certain temperature difference between day and night, and the temperature at night is about 5 ℃ lower than that in the day. Kimberly queen fern can adapt to and resist temperatures below 0 ℃ in winter.

Humidity

Kimberly queen fern likes humidity and has high requirements for soil humidity and air humidity. The relative humidity of 60% - 80% is more appropriate. Too dry is easy to cause the leaves to turn yellow and fall off. We can spray water on the leaf surface to improve the air humidity. However, due to the thin leaves of Kimberly queen fern, it is easy to cause the leaves to rot and turn black.

Fertilizer

Kimberly queen fern must choose the soil rich in organic matter and loose soil. The matrix can be rotten leaf soil, perlite and peat soil. We can add liquid fertilizer during the growth period of Kimberly queen fern. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are particularly important for plant growth. Nitrogen can make Kimberly queen fern grow vigorously, phosphorus can make plant roots developed, and potassium can promote photosynthesis and chlorophyll synthesis. We should ensure that Kimberly queen fern is fully fertilized, so as to promote better plant growth.

Pruning

Kimberly queen fern can be properly pruned during growth, maintain good shape and promote the growth of new leaves. Kimberly queen fern pruning is very simple. They are usually pruned in early spring to promote new growth. In the process of daily maintenance, once yellow, withered or completely withered leaves are found, they shall be trimmed and cleaned in time. Once it is found that the leaves have withered, we should timely Kimberly queen fern pruning. In early spring, we should timely clean up some yellow and withered leaves in order to promote the growth of new leaves. Kimberly queen fern pruning can promote the growth of new leaves, which is also conducive to ornamental. The leaves are too old and the president is scattered. After the new leaves grow, it can maintain the health and beauty of Kimberly queen fern.

Repotting

If you want to prevent waterlogging, make sure the pot you choose for your Kimberly Queen fern has drainage holes. Although it can be grown in any pot, hanging baskets or other decorative pots will make this plant look good. Every growing season requires an additional one-pot size increase.

We can carry out Kimberly queen fern repotting every two to three years. Not a plant grows in a flower pot all its life. When we are in Kimberly queen fern repotting, we should be careful not to damage the root. When planting a new pot, do not put the soil on the plant first, but put the plant into the pot first and put its own matched matrix in the. We can also put some broken stones at the bottom of the basin to promote drainage and facilitate root respiration.

It is not advised to plant ferns in excessively large pots. In large pots, the sizeable portion of unused soil can retain too much moisture and cause root rot. Use a pot that is just a little bit bigger than your fern's current rootball. Being somewhat root-bound is okay for ferns. To ensure quick water drainage, line the bottom of the pot with a layer of tiny pebbles or rocks.

Growth Rate

The Kimberly Queen fern has large, gorgeous fronds with upright, bushy leaves. Up to 2-3 feet tall, it can grow. in height and 2-4 ft. in width when mature. The fronds are shaped like a semi-arch. This plant is slow-growing and evergreen.

This fern has large, sword-like fronds that are sort of emerald green in color. The growth pattern of the plant is typically upright and bushy.

They share a name because they are both native to Australia's Kimberley region. It makes for a great indoor plant because it also purifies the air of contaminants like formaldehyde.

Petioles, the main stem of the fronds, are covered in extremely fine, reddish scales or hair. The margins of the leaves have a slight scalloping.

Even though it is a slow-growing plant, warm, muggy weather promotes the fastest growth.

Kimberly Queen Fern Pest & Disease Control

1. Anthrax

This Kimberly queen fern disease is characterized by pink slime at the lesion, which mainly endangers the young leaves of the plant. The injured part of this Kimberly queen fern disease starts with small dark brown spots in the shape of water stains on the leaf edge or leaf tip, and then gradually expands from several disease spots to irregular patches, the color becomes scorched yellow, some disease spots become cloud like, and there are light red halos at the edge. In the later stage, the middle of the disease spots becomes gray white, with many small black spots. In severe cases, the whole leaf dies. This Kimberly queen fern disease will cause the top of the plant to turn brown and wilt, damaging the commercial appearance of the plant. The pathogen winters on the diseased leaves with mycelium, conidia or ascospore cavity. When the temperature rises to 20 ℃ and the relative humidity exceeds 75%, the pathogen begins to develop. The pathogen spreads through rainwater and spreads rapidly at 25 ℃ and 80% ~ 90% humidity.
Prevention and Treatment: This Kimberly queen fern disease mainly focuses on prevention. It should be sprayed for prevention in plum rain season and high temperature and high humidity season when new leaves are formed. The occurrence of this Kimberly queen fern disease can be prevented by adjusting the temperature, humidity and ventilation conditions of the greenhouse, keeping the leaves dry, preventing the introduction of diseased plants and completely removing the nearby diseased bodies. Before or at the early stage of the disease, spray once every 7 days for 2 ~ 3 times, and good results can be obtained. The effective fungicides include 75% chlorothalonil 500 times liquid, 50% carbendazim wettable powder 800 ~ 1000 times liquid or 70% tobuzin wettable powder 800 ~ 1000 times liquid. The fungicides such as Dasheng, lideco and Shibaoke also have good control effects.

2. Brown spot

This Kimberly queen fern disease often occurs at the top of the leaves. The injured leaves are round black spots at the beginning, and then expand into a circle or near circle. The edges of the spots are dark brown, the center is gray black and has small black spots. After that, the spots expand rapidly, and the leaves finally become black, dry and die. The main route of transmission of this Kimberly queen fern disease is fallen leaves, which may occur in spring, summer and autumn. It is easy to be popular in hot and humid seasons.
Prevention and Treatment: isolate and spray the diseased plants immediately, or cut them off and burn them in a centralized manner, and spray the drugs for protection at the same time. It can be controlled by spraying 50% carbendazim 1000 times solution, 50% methyltobuzin 1000 times solution, 200 times Bordeaux solution and other chemicals. Brown spot is also easy to occur if watering is too much or humidity is too high. At the initial stage of the disease, it can be sprayed with 300 ~ 400 times of 50% ammonium Daisen aqueous solution and 800 ~ 1000 times of 70% tobuzin wettable powder.

3. Nematode disease

The pathogen of this Kimberly queen fern disease is a white linear mollusc with two pointed ends. The diseased plant wilted and died gradually. A variety of greenhouse ferns are invaded by nematodes, which can be identified by reddish brown or black band lines extending from the middle rib to the leaf edge. We put a small piece of brown plaque into the water and observed it under the microscope. We can clearly see the small worms moving around.
Prevention and Treatment: we should remove the damaged leaves and eliminate their growth conditions, which is conducive to reducing the invasion of nematodes. Using insecticides such as 10% gram line phosphorus, gram line Dan or 25% C line phosphorus, covering fresh loess and irrigation with a small amount of water can significantly reduce the population density of root knot nematodes. Hot water treatment can also be used to prevent this Kimberly queen fern disease. Before planting, soak the plant in 43 ℃ hot water for 10 ~ 15 minutes.

4. Dry Leaf Tips

For a variety of reasons, the tips of your Kimberly Queen fern leaves can easily dry out and turn brown. Intense sunlight, a dry environment, high temperatures, root rot, overfertilization, and a few others are among them.

Watch for dried leaf tips because they are a quick sign that something is wrong.

Kimberly Queen Fern Propagation

How to Propagate Kimberly Queen Fern from Cutting

The plant can be used for kimberly queen fern propagation from cuttings. Such ferns can be propagated by stem or leaf cuttings. We can directly pull off the leaves of the Kimberly queen fern and put them into the soil or cut off a section of the stem. The cutting environment of Kimberly queen fern should be in a cool place to avoid sun exposure and give it a humid growth environment, which is easier to survive. We should select 1-2-year-old branches and stems without diseases and pests, truncate them to a length of 15-20 cm, keep only 3-4 leaves at the top, apply carbendazim solution to the wound, dry them in a ventilated environment, and then plant them in a mixed soil containing sandy soil, perlite, peat soil, and rotten leaf soil.

Propagate Kimberly Queen Fern in Water

Kimberly queen fern can be hydroponically cultured and is relatively easy. The water exchange period is long and does not need special care. First, we should select healthy and vigorous plants, soak them in the treatment solution to eliminate bacteria, and then put them into clean water for Kimberly queen fern hydroponics in a room of about 20 degrees.
For the Kimberly queen fern, we can choose a transparent cylindrical glass container because it is easy for us to observe the root system of the plant. When the root of the plant grows too strong or rots and turns black, it should be trimmed and the plant should be treated with water exchange.
Kimberly queen fern before hydroponic culture, we should soak in clean water for two days for root washing and pruning. We should pay attention to the green tender roots of the plant and be careful of damage, which will affect the survival rate of hydroponic plants. For the black old roots and rotten roots, we can prune them at will. We can dry and disinfect the container after treatment, and directly soak it in clean water.

Kimberly Queen Fern Benefits

If we propagate Kimberly queen fern in the room, they will play the function of sponge and absorb indoor substances harmful to human health such as carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. These plants can play a good role even when there is little light.
Kimberly queen fern is evergreen all year round, or has brightly colored spores or leaves, or has unique and dazzling rhizomes. In addition, it is resistant to shade and humidity, and some kinds of stone or epiphytic special ecological habits, so Kimberly queen fern has unique ornamental characteristics.

Conclusion for Taking Care of Kimberly Queen Fern

The leaves of a Kimberly Queen Fern adore medium to bright indirect light, but too much brightness will cause them to fade. A Kimberly Queen fern almost looks after itself if you're careful not to overwater or overfertilize it. In a basket in front of a window with a north orientation, this hardy plant thrives and looks lovely. Other benefits of a Kimberly Queen fern are that it is an excellent " clean air plant" eliminating harmful chemicals from the air. It is not poisonous and is safe to have around kids, dogs, cats, and other animals.

FAQs About Kimberly Queen Fern Care

Can a Kimberly Queen Fern Be a Houseplant?

Kimberly Queen Ferns are easy-to-grow and thrive outdoors or as a houseplant.

Is a Kimberly Queen Fern an Indoor Or Outdoor Plant?

These ferns can be successfully grown outdoors in warm regions, as container plants that are overwintered indoors or as completely indoor houseplants. It is best to plant them in the spring because they grow fairly quickly. Australian native species include the Kimberley queen fern.

How Many Suns Can a Kimberly Queen Fern Take?

The tips can also be burned by excessive fertilizer and low humidity. Is It Allowed to Hang a Fern in Front of a Southern Window? One of the rare ferns that can survive in direct sunlight is the Kimberly Queen. If you put it in medium indirect light, it will be happier and easier to care for.

Can You Cut Back Kimberly Queen Fern?

Like other houseplants, the Kimberly Queen fern responds well to pruning. It ought to recover quickly, and when it does, it ought to be stronger and bigger than before. When the plant starts to look unruly or you spot a cluster of brown fronds, it's usually time to prune it back.

How Long Do Kimberly Queen Ferns Last?

Although this varies, you can expect a Kimberly Queen fern to live for five or more years in ideal conditions.

What Do You Do With Kimberly Queen Ferns in the Winter?

Kimberly queen fern doesn't tolerate frosty temperatures. If you live in a cold-winter area, you'll need to treat this plant as an annual or move it indoors for the winter. It prefers moderate indoor lighting and high humidity. To increase the humidity in the air, try grouping your Kimberly queen fern with other houseplants and setting up a small humidifier close by.

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