My greenhouse ferns were dying for 6 months until I caught the real problem

I've got a small 8x10 greenhouse in my backyard in Portland, and for half a year I watched my ferns slowly turn brown and crispy. I tried more water, less water, shade cloth, even repotted them with fresh soil. Nothing worked. Then last month I grabbed a cheap humidity meter from the hardware store for $12 and found out my greenhouse was sitting at 30% humidity in the afternoon. Ferns need at least 60% to stay happy. I set up a simple misting system on a timer that kicks on for 30 seconds every hour, and now they're popping out new fronds like crazy. Has anyone else dealt with a humidity issue that seemed like something totally different?

2 comments

2 Comments

david_hayes3d ago

I read somewhere that ferns actually evolved in the understory of rainforests where humidity is basically always 80% or higher, so it makes sense that 30% would turn them into crispy brown ghosts. Your misting setup sounds like the perfect fix for that!

oliver_fisher3d ago

The humidity meter from the hardware store for $12" - love that, probably saved you from another 6 months of watching crispy fern ghosts in your greenhouse. Sounds like your plants were just living in a tiny desert and you finally gave them a drink of air.