My fern collection got way happier after I dumped the misting bottle

I used to spray my Boston ferns twice a day for 3 years, thinking humidity was everything. Last month I got a cheap $15 hygrometer and realized my bathroom stays at 70% humidity anyway. I stopped misting completely and the new fronds are bigger and less crispy than before. The old brown tips I blamed on dry air are actually from inconsistent watering, not lack of mist. Anyone else seen better results by just leaving their ferns alone?

2 comments

2 Comments

ellis.hayden20d ago

Misting works fine for me, but I get why you stopped.

tylerblack19d ago

Went through something similar with my pothos a couple years back. I was SO convinced it needed constant spritzing that I kept a spray bottle on my coffee table, right next to my remote. Then I got a dehumidifier for the basement and accidentally left it running in the living room for a full weekend. The pothos put out three new leaves that week, and they were the darkest green I'd ever seen on that plant. Now I only water when the soil feels dry an inch down, and I haven't touched a spray bottle since. The brown tips on my spider plant cleared up too, which I honestly thought was from the cat nibbling it, but nope, it was me over-misting like an idiot.