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Species library › Asplenium › Asplenium bulbiferum
Ferns Well documented

Asplenium bulbiferum

Hen and chicken fern

A New Zealand ground fern of moist lowland forest, named for the small plantlets (bulbils) that form on its fronds and drop off to root. It likes cool, shaded, humid conditions and rich, moist soil. Most plants sold under this name are actually the larger sterile hybrid A. × lucrosum, which is easier indoors; true A. bulbiferum wants cooler, more humid conditions.

Asplenium bulbiferum
Photo: Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

A ground-layer fern of coastal to subalpine forest, most common in lowland forest in high-rainfall areas and in riparian forest on base-rich soils. It often grows with other Asplenium species and hybridises with them.

Coastal to subalpine. The 17 measured elevations range from 10 to 477 m, median 20 m, which under-represents inland and upland sites.

New Zealand North IslandNew Zealand South IslandStewart IslandChatham IslandsAntipodean Islands

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, unmodified.