The Blue Star Fern (Phlebodium aureum 'Blue Star') is a real stunner, with soft, strappy fronds in a cool silvery blue-green and a lovely wild, higgledy-piggledy shape. An epiphytic fern native to the tropical rainforests of the Americas, it grows from furry, creeping rhizomes and is far more forgiving than most ferns, coping happily with lower light where fussier types would sulk.

Its blue-toned foliage brings a calm, cooling note to a shelf or side table, and it is right at home in a steamy bathroom or kitchen. An easy, characterful fern that shifts and fills out as it matures.

Care at a glance

Light: Bright, indirect light, though it tolerates low to medium light well. Keep it out of direct sun, which scorches the fronds.

Water: Keep the soil evenly moist, watering when the surface starts to dry. Water around the edge of the pot, away from the furry rhizomes, and never leave it standing in water.

Humidity: Loves higher humidity, so a bathroom or kitchen suits it well. Mist occasionally if your rooms run dry.

Temperature: Happy in normal room temperatures of 16 to 24°C, away from cold draughts.

Pet note: Considered non-toxic, so a good choice for homes with pets and children.

Supplied in a 17cm nursery pot. As a living plant, size and form vary from one to the next, so yours will be one of a kind.