Herzfarn - Hemionitis arifolia
Sprouts of BristolThese adorable ferns reciprocate your love and care with cute heart-shaped leaves on the end of wiry stems. Originating in hot, humid climates, the key to success here is keeping them moist, warm and in just the right amount of light. Think about the level of light you'd get on the forest floor - it is bright, but you don't get direct sun because of the tree canopy. Keep this plant happy and it'll reward your care with lush, green foliage to really spread the love. These plants usually reach a height of around 15cm (6"), but can grow larger if they're in ideal conditions.
Scientific Name
Hemionitis arifolia (mule plant with arum-like leaves)
This is listed as a synonym of Acrostichum aureum in the taxonomy database, but looks different to many wild specimens and is still almost exclusively sold under the name Hemionitis arifolia.
Common Name
Heart Fern, Floating Heart Fern, Heart Leaf Fern
Origin
Native to Southeast Asia
Light
This plant needs the Goldilocks amount of light: not too bright and not too dark! Within a couple of metres of a north or east-facing window, or near a brighter window with some shade, should give about the right amount of light. Think about the light in a forest, below the tree canopy - that's where these ferns grow best.
Water
These ferns are used to reliably moist soil, so don't ever let them fully dry out! They will appreciate regular watering; watch for when the top of the soil starts to feel dry.
Humidity
These ferns love high humidity. Ideal for bathrooms and kitchens, if you notice browning and crisping leaf tips they are probably not getting enough damp air. You can help them cope in drier spots by introducing a pebble tray to raise local humidity.
Soil
A well-draining but above all moisture-retentive mix will work well here. A mix designed for ferns, or one with added coir, sand and zeolite, will work well to keep your plant hydrated and look after its delicate roots. Repot every three years in spring, making sure to water 24 hours before you repot to protect the roots.
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
Think medium indirect to shady light, high humidity, and frequent watering and that should help you keep this thirsty tropical plant happy. If you can read without turning on the lights, this will be bright enough; this plant can't deal with direct sun which will scorch it (as someone who has to lather on the Factor 50 all summer, I relate). And if you're not sure with the humidity, a tray filled with pebbles, semi-hydro or grit and covered with water, placed under this plant, will help to raise local humidity for your fern.
Did you know?
These plants were once worn by women as charms against pregnancy
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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