How to Grow Moss Fern As a Houseplant

Prepare for planting. If planting in an open container, fill the bottom half of the container with a rich soil mix. If growing in a terrarium, fill the bottom of your terrarium with gravel for drainage, add a few tablespoons of activated charcoal and sprinkle soil mix over this to fill up one-quarter of the terrarium.

Remove your moss fern from its container and massage the root ball. Place the plant on the soil in your container. If planting a terrarium, nestle the plant into the soil to finish planting. For a container, pour additional soil over the roots to complete planting.

Water the dirt to saturate the soil. Thereafter, water moss fern when the soil feels moist to the touch; do not allow it to dry out completely. In the fall and winter, decrease watering but do not allow the plants to dry out.

Place the moss fern in a shady or partly shady location where it receives no direct light.

Fertilize moss fern with a light fertilizer, such as 5-5-5, to promote growth. Apply the right dose range for your size plant. Cal Lemke recommends weekly fertilizing to promote growth.

Clip back long tendrils as they grow to maintain the size and shape of your plant.