Doryopteris cordata - Hand Fern
Sprouts of BristolThis fern's leaves grow like pudgy hands or green paws on the end of long, delicate stems. This mid-green foliage is covered in tiny, delicate hairs which help it keep hydrated in its woodland home. New leaves grow from the centre of the plant, and occasionally the plant may throw out a taller, fertile leaf with thinner fronds, above the rest of the foliage; this gives it the common name 'antenna fern!'. These plants love moisture and humidity, and can be fussy when kept as a houseplant. They are best suited to terrarium or self-watering environments, which will help you not have to water every single day! This cute little plant is perfect for adding texture and interest to your terrarium setup.
Scientific Name
Doryopteris pilosa var. gemmifera (stem-winged, hairy plant, bud-bearing variety)
The Genus Doryopteris has now been absorbed by the genus Hemionitis. The correct scientific name is now Hemionitis pilosa var. gemmifera, though you may also see the name Doryopteris cordata, which is incorrect.
Common Name
Antenna Fern, Hand Fern
Origin
This fern is native to Southern Africa
Light
This fern loves dappled shade in the wild, so in your home make sure it's in a spot with bright but indirect light. Especially in a terrarium, direct sun can heat the plant up too much and scorch the leaves.
Water
This fern will love consistently moist soil, so make sure you are watering as soon as the top starts to feel dry. A self-watering pot or keeping this fern in a terrarium will be the most low-maintenance way of keeping this plant.
Humidity
Like many ferns, this one loves humidity and will benefit from an environment with plenty of moisture in the air, such as a frequently-used bathroom or in a closed cabinet or terrarium.
Soil
A soil with plenty of moisture-retentive elements like coco coir, with some sand to help this plant's fine roots, will work well. Look out for blends designed for ferns. Repot every 3-4 years as the plant grows; if in a terrarium, you can separate the plant at the roots to keep it smaller when it starts to outgrow the space.
Food
Feed every four waters in the growing season, reduce to every six in autumn and winter.
Temperature
These ferns love warm temperatures between 18-26°C; make sure it doesn't drop below 15°C in winter, as this will cause issues with browning foliage and yellow halos.
Pet-safe
Yes, but too much nibbling won't be good for pets, small humans or the plant!
Sprouts Top Tips
Our main advice here is all to do with the moisture! The most low-effort way of keeping this fern happy is keeping it in an enclosed setup like a terrarium. The next best would be a self-watering pot, where it can choose its own moisture level, but this could be challenging especially whilst the plant is so small. And, if it isn't in a closed system, the best spot for it would be a damp bathroom, where the humidity level should be able to keep it relatively happy.
Important Information
If you have any questions, please check out the below or get in touch via our contact formWe're devoted to sending our customers quality plants with the best service around. Every plant is backed by our 7-day guarantee, so they arrive in good health.
Our team takes extra steps when prepping plants for transportation, but they're still sensitive to changes, so there may be minor cosmetic issues. We always aim to photograph and disclose any flaws before shipping, but a living creature travelling across the country in a box can take a hot minute to adjust to its new life.
If you have any issues within 7 days of receiving your order, holler at our customer support team on our contact form with your order details and some pics of the issue. After the guarantee has expired, though, we can't refund as we can't guarantee care and environmental factors. If you repot the plant during the 7 days, the guarantee is void.
We have been sending plants up and down the country for many year now and we like to think we have our way down to an art.
We protect the plant from falling out of the soil with tissue paper and tape if needed, then we wrap the plant in corrugated cardboard, and sometimes we protect the leaves with extra tissue paper if required. This is then placed into a box and if there is any empty space, we fill this with void fill to stop the plants moving around inside the box. Sometimes we will write a note on your packing slip to water the plant on arrival, so please look out for this. This is due a freshly watered plant going in a box will not only be soggy, but as the plant is in darkness this can sometimes make the plant unhappy when just freshly watered.
If your plant arrives to you unhappy, please send us a photo of the plant and packaging if relevant straight away, so we can advise you.
Online orders are packed and dispatched within a few days. Usually depending on volumes, we aim to get your order dispatched within 1 working day. We have collections from Royal Mail 6 days a week so deliveries tend to be speedy.
Our standard parcel delivery service is £4.99 for Royal Mail Tracked48, you can upgrade to Tracked24 for £2.50.
We do offer a Tracked48 Large Letter option for £2.99, and Tracked24 for £1 extra, but this only applies to products less than 2.5cm thick.
*Deliveries 7 days a week only included Tracked24 parcels.
Link to your shipping policy
We get a lot of boxes, packaging and whatnot at Sprouts from all our various supplier's deliveries. We re-use this packaging material where possible, plus we take in donations from local businesses and customers to our shop to avoid excess packaging going to landfill. Sometimes your delivery might look a little different, or come in a branded box from another company, but rest assured the items inside are carefully packed with love and attention inside. We use paper tape and all our branded materials included are fully recyclable. Sometimes we use polystyrene, bubble wrap or plastic wrap in the packaging, all these items are not new and where possible, please use them again.
We have partnered with Zedify to offer low-carbon deliveries in Central Bristol for £6.99.
Zedify collect and deliver orders from us Monday - Friday and will usually deliver your order the same day its collected. If you place your order before 11am, we will aim to get it collected the same day but this isnt always possible. When you have received your dispatch email, Zedify should be delivering your order the same day, anytime before 6pm.
We cannot give an idea of time, but if you would prefer delivery on a certain date (Monday - Friday) please get in touch or leave a note at check out with your preferred delivery date and we will do our best to accommodate your request.
Zedify deliver to the following postcodes BS1, BS2, BS3, BS4, BS5, BS6, BS7, BS8 (1, 2, 3A - 3N, 4), BS9 (1,3,4).
Select click and collect at checkout to collect your order from our Bristol shop.
You will get an email when your order is ready to collect, where possible please come and collect your order the same day as we have limited space. If you are going to collect your order at a later date, please let us know in the message box at check out so we know when to expect you. Some items such as gift sets, kits and pre-order items may not be ready to collect the same day, again please let us know what day you would like to collect and we will let you know if there's any issues.
We do not offer free returns, but if you are unhappy with your delivery, please get in touch. If your parcel or order has been damaged, please take photos and send these over to our team so we can look into this for you.
If you have ordered an item and you would like to exchange it, we should be able to do this for you. There may be an extra charge for delivery, but get in touch to discuss. For plants there is a 7 day return policy and 30 days for everything else, apart from sale items which are none returnable.
You can return or exchange in our Bristol shop for free.
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