Mature size & growth rate

How big does Blue Rabbit's Foot Fern (Davallia solida) get?

Also called Rabbit's Foot Fern, Squirrel's Foot Fern, Woolly Bear Fern.

More about blue rabbit's foot fern

About Blue Rabbit's Foot Fern

Davallia solida · also called Rabbit's Foot Fern, Squirrel's Foot Fern · tropical

Davallia solida is a striking epiphytic fern from tropical Australasia and the Pacific, famous for its creeping, furry rhizomes that clamber over the edges of baskets and pots. The finely divided, triangular fronds add delicate texture to any display. Best grown in hanging baskets with high humidity. Considered pet-safe as a true fern.

Mature size: 20-40 cm tall, rhizomes spreading to 40-60 cm or more in baskets

Indoor size vs how big it gets in the wild

Blue Rabbit's Foot Fern does not get tall — it gets long. Size here is about stem length and how you train or cut it, not how much floor it claims. Indoors and in a pot, expect 20-40 cm tall, rhizomes spreading to 40-60 cm or more in baskets. A pot, your light levels and a little pruning are what set the final size in a home, far more than the plant's theoretical potential.

Growth shows up as lengthening stems that trail down or climb up a support; the plant can be kept tiny or grown metres long from the exact same root system.

Growth rate and years to mature

Blue Rabbit's Foot Fern is a moderate grower. Realistically, expect three to six years to reach mature indoor size, gaining a steady amount each growing season. Its feeding profile backs this up: feed with a balanced liquid fertiliser at quarter strength once a month during spring and summer. davallia species are light feeders — excess nutrients cause overly lush growth and salt damage to rhizomes. withhold feeding in autumn and winter.

Want this turned into the right next pot at the right moment? The pot size calculator and the blue rabbit's foot fern repotting guide cover when and how much to size up — pot size is one of the biggest levers on how fast blue rabbit's foot fern grows.

How to keep blue rabbit's foot fern smaller

You are not stuck with the maximum size. For blue rabbit's foot fern specifically, these are the levers, in order of impact:

Trim the longest vines back to the length you want — blue rabbit's foot fern takes hard cutting well and bushes out from the cut.
Cut just above a leaf node; each trimmed stem usually branches into two, so pruning makes it fuller, not sparser.
The cuttings root easily in water or mix, so "keeping it smaller" doubles as free new plants.
A trim once or twice a season is usually enough to hold its length.

The keep-it-smaller method, step by step

Decide the length you want. Pick the point each vine of blue rabbit's foot fern should stop — you can be aggressive; it regrows readily.
Cut just above a node. Snip about 0.5 cm above a leaf node so the stem branches there instead of dying back.
Root the cuttings. Drop the trimmed pieces in water or mix — they root in 2-4 weeks and can fill the same pot for a bushier look.
Repeat as it runs. Re-trim whenever it overshoots; regular light pruning keeps it both smaller and fuller.

How to grow blue rabbit's foot fern bigger or faster

If you want it to fill the space sooner, push the conditions rather than hoping — for blue rabbit's foot fern the accelerators are:

Good light plus a moss pole or trellis triggers the longest, fastest, largest-leaved growth.
Give it something to climb — many vines grow far faster and bigger up a support than trailing.
Feed through spring and summer and keep it consistently watered while it is actively running.

Light is almost always the ceiling. The blue rabbit's foot fern light requirements page covers exactly how bright a spot it needs to grow at its potential instead of stalling.

When blue rabbit's foot fern outgrows the room (or the pot)

"Too big" usually arrives as one of these signs for blue rabbit's foot fern:

Vines pooling on the floor or wrapping past where you want them — purely a trimming cue, not a repot one.
Bare, leggy stems with leaves only at the tips (usually a light problem, not a size one).
A tangled mass that has outrun its support and needs cutting back and re-training.

If it is the pot rather than the room, it is a repotting job, not a goodbye — see the blue rabbit's foot fern repotting guide. If you want more of this plant instead of a bigger one, the blue rabbit's foot fern propagation guide turns prunings into new plants.

Blue Rabbit's Foot Fern size — frequently asked questions

How big does blue rabbit's foot fern get?

Blue Rabbit's Foot Fern reaches 20-40 cm tall, rhizomes spreading to 40-60 cm or more in baskets when grown indoors. Growth shows up as lengthening stems that trail down or climb up a support; the plant can be kept tiny or grown metres long from the exact same root system.

Is blue rabbit's foot fern slow or fast growing?

Blue Rabbit's Foot Fern is a moderate grower. Expect three to six years to reach mature indoor size, gaining a steady amount each growing season. Blue Rabbit's Foot Fern does not get tall — it gets long. Size here is about stem length and how you train or cut it, not how much floor it claims.

How long does blue rabbit's foot fern take to reach full size?

Roughly three to six years to reach mature indoor size, gaining a steady amount each growing season. Light, pot size and feeding move that timeline more than anything else.

How do I keep blue rabbit's foot fern smaller?

Trim the longest vines back to the length you want — blue rabbit's foot fern takes hard cutting well and bushes out from the cut. Cut just above a leaf node; each trimmed stem usually branches into two, so pruning makes it fuller, not sparser. The cuttings root easily in water or mix, so "keeping it smaller" doubles as free new plants. A trim once or twice a season is usually enough to hold its length.

How can I make blue rabbit's foot fern grow bigger or faster?

Good light plus a moss pole or trellis triggers the longest, fastest, largest-leaved growth. Give it something to climb — many vines grow far faster and bigger up a support than trailing. Feed through spring and summer and keep it consistently watered while it is actively running.