Lemon Button Fern

Lemon Button Fern

If you like ferns as houseplants and want something easier to care for than the Boston fern, you may want to get a Lemon Button fern, (Nephrolepsis cordifolia), sometimes sold as a “Duffy” fern.   

Lemon Button ferns  have golden –green arching fronds with tiny rounded leaves alternately placed along the stem.  When the plants are handled they give off a faint lemon scent. These are small, slow growing ferns that are content to remain in small pots or terrariums for many years.  At full maturity they are about a foot high and wide.  There is a double leaved variety.   

Lemon Button ferns survive low humidity better than Boston Ferns but they do like to be continuously moist.  The pot should drain well, but make sure they don’t dry out.  Fertilize these small ferns once a month from March through November with a dilute houseplant fertilizer.  They prefer diffuse light, a spot in an east or north window or in a well lit room away from windows is a good location.  They are not hardy outdoors above Zone 8, but are sometimes suggested for rock gardens in shaded areas.  They could be left in pots and brought in to overwinter or treated as annuals.

Lemon Button ferns are great for terrariums and miniature gardens.  The plants are non-toxic and pose no threat to munching pets.   Mature plants can be propagated by division or spores.  Plants are easy to find in stores that sell houseplants.