Kangaroo Paw Fern

How to care for Kangaroo Paw Fern

Light

Microsorum diversifolium thrives in bright, indirect light but adapts well to moderately shaded positions, making it suitable for rooms with north or east-facing windows. Direct summer sun will scorch the fronds, causing bleaching and brown patches. A couple of metres back from a bright window is often ideal indoors.

Watering

Water thoroughly when the top centimetre of compost feels dry, allowing excess to drain freely. The plant prefers consistent moisture but is susceptible to root rot if left sitting in waterlogged compost. Reduce watering frequency in autumn and winter when growth slows, but never allow the rhizome to dry out completely.

Soil and potting

A free-draining, humus-rich mix is essential. A blend of peat-free multi-purpose compost with added perlite or coarse grit (roughly 2:1) works well, or a proprietary orchid bark mix with additional fine compost. Good aeration around the rhizome is important, as the plant is naturally epiphytic and dislikes dense, compacted growing media.

Feeding

Apply a balanced, diluted liquid fertiliser at half the recommended strength once a month during spring and summer. Ferns do not require heavy feeding, and excess nutrients can cause tip burn or salt build-up. Cease feeding in autumn and winter when the plant is not actively growing.

Humidity and temperature

This fern prefers moderate to high humidity, ideally 50% or above, and benefits from misting, placement on a pebble tray with water, or grouping with other plants. It tolerates the temperature range of most UK homes, performing best between 15 and 27 C. Protect it from cold draughts, central heating that dries the air excessively, and temperatures below 10 C.

Repotting

Repot every two to three years in spring, or sooner if the creeping rhizome begins to sprawl well beyond the container. Choose a shallow, wide pot or a hanging basket, as the surface-creeping rhizome spreads horizontally rather than deeply. Avoid burying the rhizome, as this can cause it to rot.

Pruning

Pruning requirements are minimal. Remove old, yellowing, or damaged fronds at the base to maintain appearance and encourage new growth. Dead fronds can be cut cleanly with sterilised scissors or secateurs. The plant does not need shaping, but spent rhizome tips can be trimmed if they become untidy.

Is Kangaroo Paw Fern toxic?

Common problems

How to propagate

Rhizome division

In spring, cut sections of the creeping rhizome that each carry at least one frond and a few roots. Pin or lay these sections onto the surface of fresh compost in a shallow pot, keeping them moist and warm until new growth establishes.

Rhizome tip cuttings

Cut a growing tip of the rhizome, approximately 5 to 8 cm in length, and place it on the surface of a moist, free-draining propagation mix. Keep in a humid, warm environment; roots and new fronds should appear within several weeks.

Where Kangaroo Paw Fern comes from

Native to eastern and south-eastern Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland.

Story and origins

The genus name Microsorum derives from the Greek words mikros, meaning small, and soros, meaning heap or pile, referring to the small, scattered sori (spore-bearing clusters) found on the undersides of the fronds. The species epithet diversifolium comes from the Latin diversus, meaning varied or different, and folium, meaning leaf, describing the plant's characteristic feature of producing fronds of markedly different shapes on the same rhizome.

Microsorum diversifolium was formally described by the German botanist Carl Ludwig Willdenow in the early nineteenth century, later revised within a complex taxonomic history involving the genus Phymatosorus and others. Native to Australia, it has long been a component of sheltered, moist gully and coastal forest ecosystems. It became popular as a houseplant in Europe and North America during the latter half of the twentieth century, prized for its hardiness and ornamental foliage. In its native Australia it holds no particular formal cultural or medicinal significance, but its distinctive appearance has made it one of the more recognisable native ferns in public gardens and interior plantscaping.

Varieties to know

Microsorum diversifolium (standard form)

The species itself is widely sold without cultivar distinction; frond variation is inherent to the species rather than cultivar-specific.

Fun facts

• The fronds on a single plant can look remarkably different from one another, ranging from simple, strap-like leaves to deeply lobed, multi-fingered fronds, a trait reflected in the species name diversifolium, meaning diverse-leaved.
• As an epiphyte in the wild, Microsorum diversifolium often grows without soil, anchoring itself to tree bark or rock faces and absorbing moisture and nutrients from the surrounding environment.
• The creeping rhizome is covered in brown, scale-like structures and closely resembles the texture of a kangaroo's paw, which inspired the plant's common name.
• It reproduces in nature by spores produced on the undersides of fronds, visible as brownish dot-like sori arranged in irregular patterns.
• Microsorum diversifolium is able to tolerate brief periods of drought better than many other ferns due to adaptations developed from its epiphytic lifestyle.

Kangaroo Paw Fern FAQ