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Asplenium nidus Birds Nest Fern

Birds Nest Fern

17 growers · 10 sizes · from $1.50 ex GST

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Asplenium nidus Birds Nest Fern is the name under which growers list the straight species Asplenium nidus, the bird's nest fern of north Queensland and Christmas Island; it is not a named selection. Its undivided, shiny green fronds, 90 to 150 cm long by the Flora of Australia, rise in a rosette from a short rhizome and catch falling litter at the centre. The Australian Native Plants Society calls it a tropical plant, vulnerable to cold, and it is grown in shade and indoors.
Illustration of bird's nest fern (Asplenium nidus): the centre of a rosette of undivided, strap-shaped shiny green fronds with a dark brown to black midrib, one frond showing close parallel spore lines running out from the midrib
Bird's nest fern (Asplenium nidus), the centre of a rosette of fronds
Type
Evergreen fern
Height
0.9 m to 1.5 m
Spread
0.6 m to 0.9 m
Growth
Slow
Sun
Part shade to shade
Frost
Vulnerable to cold
In Australia
Native

Some growers show prices to verified trade buyers. Sign in or sign up with your ABN to see them and order.

GrowerPrice
Green Dymension140mmPrice shown to verified trade buyers. Sign in with your ABN to see it.
Eché165mmPrice on application. Sign in to ask the grower.
Green Dymension170mmPrice shown to verified trade buyers. Sign in with your ABN to see it.
Green Dymension250mmPrice shown to verified trade buyers. Sign in with your ABN to see it.
Green Dymension300mmPrice shown to verified trade buyers. Sign in with your ABN to see it.
Swan Reach Nursery125mm$7.50
Project Plants Trade Centre100mm$10.00
Northern Rivers NativesTube$4.50
Awesome Plants120mm$18.99
Bamboo Land Pty Ltd125mm$12.00
Lumpys Nursery & Landscape Yard125mm$16.50
Lomalagi Artisan Nurseries200mm$20.00
Yackandandah Valley Nursery140mm$11.95
Yackandandah Valley Nursery200mm$21.95
Kenthurst Nursery300mm$60.00
Swan Reach Nursery125mm$7.50
Sonters Fern Nursery100mm$5.16
Bicheno NurseryTube$1.50
Help Nursery200mm$12.00
True Green Nursery200mm$28.00
Mackay Tree Farm Pty Ltd200mm$25.00

Also grown by 11 nurseries (no sizes or prices listed)

Enquire with them for sizes and prices.

Growing bird's nest fern

Climate. The Australian Native Plants Society calls Asplenium nidus a tropical plant, vulnerable to cold, that must be grown in a glasshouse in temperate regions, and HortFlora says it needs shelter and warmth. Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes finds it more tolerant of hot tropical conditions than the other bird's nest fern, Asplenium australasicum. No Australian reference read gives a frost figure. In America, North Carolina State Extension says it cannot tolerate frost and will not survive below 40 degrees F (about 4 degrees C), and the Missouri Botanical Garden says plants grown outdoors prefer a minimum of 50 degrees F (10 degrees C) and usually tolerate brief dips into the high 30s F (about 3 degrees C). In the wild it grows on tree trunks or rocks in rainforest and vine forest.

Light, soil and water. Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes says to grow it as it advises for A. australasicum: under glass or in a semi-shaded garden, on a tree, in a basket, pot or the ground, a container holding a coarse, free-draining epiphyte mix and big enough to keep a mature plant stable. The Missouri Botanical Garden gives part shade to full shade and North Carolina State Extension dappled sun or part shade; both ask for a moist soil that drains well and for good humidity, and Missouri says to keep the soil evenly moist. North Carolina State Extension warns that too much sun may turn it yellow or stop its growth.

Pests. Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes says it is particularly susceptible to white scale. American references add slugs, snails, mealybugs, bacterial leaf diseases and leaf nematode; Missouri says chemical insecticides will damage the plant.

Using bird's nest fern

Bird's nest fern is a foliage plant for shade, containers and interiors. Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes calls it a widely cultivated ornamental fern with many horticultural varieties. The Missouri Botanical Garden thinks highly of it indoors, given bright light out of direct sun and a humid room, and says one plant alone makes a good specimen; North Carolina State Extension adds containers, hanging baskets and mass plantings outdoors in the tropics, and plants grown on tree trunks.

Both American references give a plant 0.9 to 1.5 m high and 0.6 to 0.9 m across, and the Missouri Botanical Garden says fronds on indoor container plants usually stay much shorter than those outdoors. No reference read gives planting centres.

What to check before you buy

The table above shows the sizes growers list. Two native Asplenium species are sold as bird's nest fern, and HortFlora says the name Asplenium nidus is frequently misapplied to the plant now correctly named Asplenium australasicum; the Australian Native Plants Society calls the two easily confused. That society says A. australasicum tolerates at least moderate frost, while A. nidus needs a glasshouse in temperate regions. The Flora of Australia tells A. nidus by its midrib, flat or gently rounded beneath and raised above, and Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes gives the other's midrib as strongly keeled beneath. The Asplenium australasicum bird's nest fern has its own page, and named forms of A. nidus such as 'Crispy Wave' and 'Osaka' are listed under their own names. What to check before stock leaves the grower is in the guide to nursery plant quality. Stock crossing a state border moves under the state and territory biosecurity rules on moving plants and soil.

Used forindoorpots and courtyardsspecimen

Prices are set by each grower and shown ex GST. Availability is confirmed by the grower at order.

Common questions

Who grows Asplenium nidus Birds Nest Fern wholesale in Australia?
17 wholesale growers list Asplenium nidus Birds Nest Fern on HortOS right now, each with their own pot sizes and trade prices. They are in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. The growers are named on this page.
What pot sizes does Asplenium nidus Birds Nest Fern come in?
Growers on HortOS list Asplenium nidus Birds Nest Fern in Tube, 100mm, 120mm, 125mm, 140mm, 165mm, 170mm, 200mm, 250mm and 300mm.
What does Asplenium nidus Birds Nest Fern cost wholesale?
The median trade price in a 125 mm pot is $9.75 ex GST, across 4 growers who price it. Prices by pot size and state are on its trade price page.
How do I order Asplenium nidus Birds Nest Fern from these growers?
HortOS is for the trade. Add the lines you want to a list and send it: each grower gets their part of the order by email, confirms what they have and quotes freight, and nothing is bought until you approve it. Listing, searching and ordering are free.
Is Asplenium nidus the same plant as Asplenium australasicum?
No. They are two species, both native and both called bird's nest fern. HortFlora says the name A. nidus is frequently misapplied to A. australasicum, and Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes tells them apart by the midrib beneath the frond: rounded in A. nidus, strongly keeled in A. australasicum.
Is Asplenium nidus native to Australia?
Yes. The Flora of Australia gives it as native and places it in north-eastern Queensland from Cape York south to Tully, and the Australian Plant Census gives its distribution as Queensland and Christmas Island. It is also generally taken to range from Madagascar to the islands of the tropical Pacific, though the Flora says its limits outside Australia are uncertain.
Can Asplenium nidus be grown outdoors in a temperate garden?
The Australian Native Plants Society says it is vulnerable to cold and must be grown in a glasshouse in temperate regions, and HortFlora says it needs shelter and warmth. No Australian reference read gives a frost figure. American references do: North Carolina State Extension says it will not survive below 40 degrees F (about 4 degrees C), and the Missouri Botanical Garden says plants outdoors prefer at least 50 degrees F (10 degrees C) and usually tolerate brief dips into the high 30s F.
How long are the fronds of Asplenium nidus?
The Flora of Australia gives the blade 90 to 150 cm long and 8.5 to 25 cm wide, and Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes 90 to 125 cm by 8.5 to 15 cm. The Missouri Botanical Garden says fronds on indoor container plants usually stay much shorter.
Does bird's nest fern need full sun?
No. The Missouri Botanical Garden gives part shade to full shade and says to avoid direct sun, and North Carolina State Extension says too much sun may turn it yellow or stop its growth. Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes suggests a greenhouse or a semi-shaded garden.
What are the dark lines under the fronds?
The sori, which carry the spores. The Flora of Australia describes them as very numerous and close together, running out from the midrib, the longest 18 to 40 mm, and usually covering less than half the width of the blade.
Why does bird's nest fern collect leaves in its centre?
The Flora of Australia says the radiating fronds trap litter at their base. Australian Tropical Ferns and Lycophytes adds that the rosette funnels rain and debris into the roots, which hold water into dry periods.

Sources

The growers, sizes and prices above are live and change as lists arrive. Cite this page: HortOS, Bird's nest fern (Asplenium nidus), https://au.hortosapp.com/plants/asplenium-nidus-birds-nest-fern.

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