Phlebodium (Blue star fern) - Care tips

Phlebodium (Blue star fern)

Phlebodium is a small genus comprising mainly fern-like plants in the family Polypodiaceae. Members of the Phlebodium family are native to tropical to subtropical regions of America.
Phlebodium belongs to the Epiphytes, plants that grow on trees. But make no mistake! They grow peacefully in the wild on top of trees in various jungles without extracting any nutrients from the trees. This fern is strong, does not lose her leaves and always retains her ornamental value.

Moreover, Phlebodium has an excellent ability to purify air. This plant won the first prize among all houseplants at the Royal Floraholland award ceremony in 2020. This beauty is easy to handle, you can be sure that your plant will live happily beside you until the end of time!

Phlebodium plant care tips

Light and placement for Phlebodium

A temperature between 18 and 25 degrees Celsius is ideal for the Phlebodium. In addition, this plant family is not a complicated species; they do not care much where they are placed as long as it is not in direct sunlight. A half-shadowed spot is best for them. Do not place them by the window, they are skittish and do not want to catch cold, draughty places are not for these ladies!

Water

Phlebodium likes to be watered twice a week in the warm season, in the winter once a week is sufficient. Make sure you water from the bottom or side of the pot, to prevent the plant from becoming "less beautiful" at the bottom of the stem. Try to water the plant at room temperature, avoid using too cold water.

Nutrition

Once a month, you can give your favorite Phlebodium some extra plant food. But only do this in the summer, in winter, your beauty doesn't need more food as she will enter a resting position and consume less energy to face the cold.

Phlebodium plant

Propagating Phlebodium

If you love your Phlebodium so much that you want another baby in addition to the original. Then you can take cuttings from your plant. The easiest way is to divide the rhizomes. To divide your plant, divide the root base in two by gently pulling the root ball apart with your fingers and repot each section into a pot of the right size. You can water your new baby, but do not give nutrition yet. The baby is still recovering from the shock of being separated from the original plant.

Most common pests on Phlebodium

Normally ferns do not suffer so easily from pests as they are really strong plants. However, the Phlebodium can suffer from spider mites. If it does happen that your Phlebodium gets problems with spider mites, it is important to combat this as soon as possible to prevent your plant from being too damaged. Check our PLNTSdoctor page to recognise and eliminate your plant pests! If you are interested in biologic pest control, you can take a look at our blog: ‘Which natural and biological pest control against which pest?’.

Are Phlebodium poisonous for your pets or children?

We know our four legged friends, right? They sometimes like to take a bite off our lovely green babies! And even if we don’t like that, we are happy to know when the plant is not poisonous for them. That’s why we are truly happy to tell you that Phlebodium is totally safe for your furry friends and the worst case possible is you coming home to a swiss cheese plant!

Phlebodium plant for sale

At PLNTS.com we have the beautiful Phlebodium Davana and her pretty curly gray/blue leaves! So if we convinced you to get a new green, or should I say, gray-blue baby, here at PLNTS.com, we got you covered for your plants dreams!