Bird’s Nest Fern Spores Have Sprouted And Need Potting

Question

Hello,i need to pot the seedlings of my bird nest fern but i don’t know if normal soil is good for them because i cant get my hands on potting mix in my area. I propagated the spores in very fine soil (i sieved dry soil to get the finest particles). Will the sieved soil work again? And a few people have recommended soil with wood shavings,or just saw dust, or just wood shavings. Thank you

Answer 1

My research shows to use a porous, organic material for the growing medium. The article below says plant in a loose, moist soil. These ferns are epiphytes and can be found growing on the trunks of trees or in soil. Saw dust might compact but wood shavings would likely work. It needs to be able to retain moisture though. Another article said to use commercial fern soil, which is composed of lots of organic material such as peat moss, peat humus, leaf mold, and ground sphagnum moss. Here is more:

https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/birds-nest-fern.html

https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/epiphytes.html

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/asplenium-nidus/

https://pss.uvm.edu/pss123/fernaspl.html

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/birds-nest-fern/birds-nest-fern-care.htm