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Species library › Blechnum › Blechnum colensoi
Ferns Well documented

Blechnum colensoi

Colenso's hard fern or waterfall fern (now often called Austroblechnum colensoi) is a New Zealand fern of dark, dripping stream gorges, banks and rocky overhangs. It needs deep shade, constant moisture, cool temperatures and very humid air, which is hard to provide in a warm, dry house.

Blechnum colensoi
Photo: Mike Dickison, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Very humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Deep shadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

Dark, wet places near water: steep stream banks, river gorges, rocky overhangs and the spray zones of waterfalls in native forest, often hanging from wet rock.

Recorded from sea level to about 1,200 m, median 360 m.

North IslandSouth IslandStewart IslandChatham IslandsAuckland IslandsSolomon 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

Grow Blechnum colensoi? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

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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 4.0 licence, unmodified.