The Secret Sauce for Happy Ferns and Flowers
I’ve talked to lots of y’all who are timid about keeping your ferns happy, and—while they can be finicky—I’m going to share my surefire secret sauce recipe for keeping ferns and other flowers rich and verdant!
I dissolve 1 tablespoon of plain Epsom salt (check the pharmacy aisle—you don’t want the scented bath kind) in a pitcher of very warm water. I like to stir my salt water with a rubber spatula to really mix it up well, then simply pour over thirsty ferns and flowers. It’s important to make sure the Epsom salt is fully dissolved, otherwise it could damage your plants! If salt sits on a fern, it will kill it.
Super-short science lesson: Epsom salt contains high levels of the micronutrients magnesium and sulfur, essential elements for plants that help them grow, produce more flowers, and increase chlorophyll production (which makes them greener!). Both magnesium and sulfur aid in photosynthesis and help plants absorb the three macronutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
There are a few plants that don’t like this treatment, like tropical plants and palms; insect-eating plants like sundews and Venus flytraps; orchids; and succulents, so it’s best to use this formula on ferns—asparagus, blue star, Boston, and Kimberly Queen, all of them!—even the ones that are mixed in with other flowers and plants like dragon wing begonia and hostas. It also works well on roses, peppers, and tomato plants.
Let me know if you try my “secret sauce.”
Bonus: It can also help deter pests and deer! I guarantee your ferns and flowers will be green and happy all summer long!