Epsom Salt Bath for Your Ferns

Brooke Amidei
Jul 17, 2023
2 min read

Updated: May 12

I was about to throw away the fern I had worked so hard to keep alive all winter long when my mom encouraged me to try giving it an epsom salt bath. I couldn't not believe the results and they just kept getting better week after week!

Check out the video to see what I did and how it worked out and read the full directions below.

Step 1:

Trim off all the dead or burnt foliage.

Step 2:

Fill a 5 gallon bucket with water and thoroughly mix in 2-5 Tablespoons of Epsom Salt.

Step 3:

Once it is fully dissolved pour that water solution into a galvanized bucket (I have no idea why this extra step is needed. If I were to do it again, I'd probably just mix it right in here or just leave it in the bucket. But know upfront I refer to myself the Lazy Lady Gardener).

Step 4:

Place your fern in the water and let it sit for a minimum of 3 hours or up to overnight. Make sure the pot is fully submerged.

There are a few different versions of this from various gardeners and online resources. I did read that you can do this once a week if you want. I guess just experiment with what works best for you and for your plants. This method definitely worked for me and I just did it the one time and let it soak for about 9 hours.

Update

Well shit...I also just now read that you can just add a tablespoon of Epsom Salt to a cup of water to bring back the color of your ferns. So, if you don't want to go to all the trouble of a bath, maybe start there first. I sure would have!

I also did some research and found that these plants also like Epsom Salt:

Azaleas & Rhododendrons
Hydrangeas
Roses
Pepper Plants
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Lettuce

It can improve the blooms of flowering and green shrubs if you work one Tablespoon of Epsom Salt per nine sq. feet of bush into the soil, over the root zone so they get all the nutrients. I'll be trying this next!

Here is a really inexpensive basic Epsom Salt on Amazon that you can get delivered right to you. You can see all of our plant favorites here!