Photo Of The Week by Larry Hurley: Bird’s Nest Fern, Asplenium nidus

May 20, 2024
Larry Hurley
House Plants, Public Gardens
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Bird's Nest Fern Fort Canning Park, in Singapore. Photo taken on November 25, 2012, — Larry with a Birdsnest Fern; Asplenium nidus; Fort Canning Park, Singapore

You might think this is one of the little people that inhabit Stephanie’s “Fairy Gardens,” but no, it’s me, peeking out from behind a very large Bird’s Nest Fern. Bird’s Nest Fern, Asplenium nidus, is commonly sold in the USA as a tropical houseplant, usually in a 4 inch or 5 inch diameter pot. I’ve never been very successful with them: I think they require higher humidity than I provided. Feel free to offer your own cultural suggestions in the “Comments” section on Stephanie’s Blog on her Beyond Behnke’s website.

This particular fern was growing in the ground at Fort Canning Park, in Singapore. Photo taken on November 25, 2012, while my wife and I were on a vacation to Singapore and Cambodia, and although this one was in a park, it does grow there natively, often as an epiphyte in the trees. We horticulturists always tell people to consider where a plant grows naturally to get hints on how to grow it successfully. In this case the advice would be: hot. Oh, so hot. And humid. Unbelievably humid. Optional, based on Singapore: surrounded by shopping malls.

Although it’s a very small country, Singapore has some amazing parks, and it’s well worth a visit for top-notch tropical plant viewing.

Larry Hurley

Larry Hurley worked at Behnke Nurseries from 1984 until the business was composted in 2019, primarily with the perennial department in growing, buying and sales.

Before landing at Behnke’s, he worked as a technician in a tissue culture lab, a houseplant “expert” at a florist shop, and inventory controller at a wholesale nursery in Dallas. With this and that, ten years passed.

When his wife Carolyn accepted a position at Georgetown University, Larry was hired at Behnke’s for the perennial growing department and garden center at Behnke’s Largo location.

In 2021, Larry and Carolyn moved back to Wisconsin to be closer to family and further from traffic. After 37 years in a shaded yard in Maryland, he is happy to have a sunny lot where he can grow all sorts of new perennials, if only he can keep the rabbits at bay. He also enjoys cooking, traveling, and the snowblower.