Mature size & growth rate

How big does Hare's Foot Fern (Phlebodium pseudoaureum) get?

Also called Hare's Foot Fern, Blue Rabbit's Foot Fern.

More about hare's foot fern

About Hare's Foot Fern

Phlebodium pseudoaureum · also called Hare's Foot Fern, Blue Rabbit's Foot Fern · houseplant

Phlebodium pseudoaureum is an epiphytic fern from the American tropics, prized for its broad, lobed, blue-green fronds and the furry, creeping rhizomes that earn it the hare's-foot name. Those fuzzy rhizomes ramble over and beyond the pot. As a tree-dwelling fern it wants airy, fast-draining footing, warmth and bright filtered light rather than wet soil.

Mature size: Fronds typically 30-60 cm tall and wide; rhizomes spread steadily across and beyond the pot, giving an eventual spread of 45-60 cm or more.

Watch for — Loss of blue colour: Too little light greens out the silvery-blue fronds and stretches growth. Move to brighter indirect light.

Indoor size vs how big it gets in the wild

Hare'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 fronds typically 30-60 cm tall and wide. In the ground with no restriction it is a completely different plant — rhizomes spread steadily across and beyond the pot, giving an eventual spread of 45-60 cm or more. — which is why the pot, the light and the pruning matter so much for the size you actually end up with.

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

Hare'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 monthly in spring and summer with a balanced liquid fertiliser at half strength. as an epiphyte it is salt-sensitive, so dilute well and flush the medium occasionally. reduce feeding to none over the low-light winter months.

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

How to keep hare's foot fern smaller

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

Trim the longest vines back to the length you want — hare'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 hare'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 hare's foot fern bigger or faster

If you want it to fill the space sooner, push the conditions rather than hoping — for hare'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 hare's foot fern light requirements page covers exactly how bright a spot it needs to grow at its potential instead of stalling.

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

"Too big" usually arrives as one of these signs for hare'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 hare's foot fern repotting guide. If you want more of this plant instead of a bigger one, the hare's foot fern propagation guide turns prunings into new plants.

Hare's Foot Fern size — frequently asked questions

How big does hare's foot fern get?

Hare's Foot Fern reaches fronds typically 30-60 cm tall and wide when grown indoors, and far larger where it grows unrestricted (rhizomes spread steadily across and beyond the pot, giving an eventual spread of 45-60 cm or more.). 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 hare's foot fern slow or fast growing?

Hare's Foot Fern is a moderate grower. Expect three to six years to reach mature indoor size, gaining a steady amount each growing season. Hare'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 hare'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 hare's foot fern smaller?

Trim the longest vines back to the length you want — hare'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 hare'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.