Why Plants Die
Theme
Theme

Hen and Chickens Fern

Asplenium bulbiferum, Aspleniaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Mother Fern, mother spleenwort, New Zealand common spleenwort and Pikopiko.

Hen and Chickens Fern (Asplenium bulbiferum), the whole plant.
Daderot, CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Listed as non-toxic to cats by ASPCA.
  • Listed as non-toxic to dogs by ASPCA.
  • Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Sources file this plant under other names: Asplenium bulbiferum Forst.f.. Citations below point at the name its source uses.

Light
Partial shade
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Moist but well-drained
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Temperature

How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.

H2 — 1–5°C 1–5 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam; pH Acid or Neutral
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Non-toxic
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Non-toxic
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
Overwatering can lead to crown rot.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Keep the compost moist without letting it get soggy, and feed monthly from May to August with a general liquid fertiliser at half strength.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Feeding
Keep the compost moist without it becoming soggy, and from May to August give a general liquid fertiliser at half strength each month.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Sow spores, or pot up plantlets once they have 3 or 4 leaves.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Remove dead or damaged fronds when needed.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Scale insects can attack it. Disease is uncommon.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

Loading the simulator. It needs JavaScript; the care table above does not.

Close view of Hen and Chickens Fern (Asplenium bulbiferum) foliage.
Close upKrzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Asplenium bulbiferum, known as mother spleenwort, is a species of fern endemic to New Zealand. It is also called hen and chicken fern and, in the Māori language, pikopiko, mouku or mauku. Its fronds are eaten as a vegetable.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Marianas, New Zealand
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
New Zeland
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Australia, New Zealand
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
subtropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
epiphyte
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Fern, Herbaceous Perennial; habit arching, erect, rounded
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Tufted (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height up to 48 in; width up to 36 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Height 0.5-1 metres; spread 0.5-1 metres after 5–10 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
No flowers.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Uses

What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.

The Maori of New Zealand gather the young fronds of this edible native fern and eat them cooked as a vegetable or raw; these fronds are sometimes called bush asparagus. Edible young fronds.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Other Asplenium

More of the Aspleniaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.