Mature size & growth rate

How big does Marie's Davallia (Davallia mariesii) get?

Also called Marie's Davallia, Ball Fern, Squirrel's Foot Fern, Japanese Hare's Foot Fern.

More about marie's davallia

About Marie's Davallia

Davallia mariesii · also called Marie's Davallia, Ball Fern · houseplant

Davallia mariesii is a delicate, deciduous epiphytic fern from East Asia — Japan, Korea, and China — prized for its finely dissected, lacy fronds and its distinctive furry, pale-brown rhizomes that creep over the pot rim. It is one of the more cold-tolerant Davallia species and is traditionally trained into decorative moss balls (kokedama) in Japan.

Mature size: 20–35 cm tall, 30–50 cm spread including rhizomes

Watch for — Pale or stunted new fronds: Usually a sign of insufficient light or nutrient depletion after several years in the same medium. Move to a brighter position and apply a dilute balanced fertiliser during the growing season. Repot every 2–3 years to refresh the growing medium.

Indoor size vs how big it gets in the wild

Marie's Davallia grows into a room-scaled plant of roughly 20–35 cm tall, 30–50 cm spread including rhizomes — bigger than a tabletop plant, but not a tree. Indoors and in a pot, expect 20–35 cm tall, 30–50 cm spread including rhizomes. 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.

It builds steadily in both height and spread to a medium, manageable size, filling a pot and a corner over a few years.

Growth rate and years to mature

Marie's Davallia 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: apply a dilute balanced liquid feed (quarter to half strength) monthly during the active growing season from spring to late summer. do not feed during winter dormancy. light feeding prevents salt build-up in the fine-textured growing medium and avoids burning the surface rhizomes.

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

How to keep marie's davallia smaller

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

Prune the tallest or longest growth back to a node to hold marie's davallia at the size you want.
Keep it slightly pot-bound and feed sparingly to cap the overall size.
Remove the largest or oldest leaves to keep the footprint in check.

How to grow marie's davallia bigger or faster

If you want it to fill the space sooner, push the conditions rather than hoping — for marie's davallia the accelerators are:

It already has good light; a yearly pot-up plus spring-summer feeding drives the fastest growth.
Pot up a size every year or two while it is establishing.
Feed and water consistently through the growing season for steady, faster size gain.

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

When marie's davallia outgrows the room (or the pot)

"Too big" usually arrives as one of these signs for marie's davallia:

It crowds the shelf or corner it lives in and starts leaning for light.
Roots circling the pot base or escaping the drainage holes.
It needs a noticeably bigger pot every year — a sign to pot up, divide, or prune.

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

Marie's Davallia size — frequently asked questions

How big does marie's davallia get?

Marie's Davallia reaches 20–35 cm tall, 30–50 cm spread including rhizomes when grown indoors. It builds steadily in both height and spread to a medium, manageable size, filling a pot and a corner over a few years.

Is marie's davallia slow or fast growing?

Marie's Davallia is a moderate grower. Expect three to six years to reach mature indoor size, gaining a steady amount each growing season. Marie's Davallia grows into a room-scaled plant of roughly 20–35 cm tall, 30–50 cm spread including rhizomes — bigger than a tabletop plant, but not a tree.

How long does marie's davallia 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 marie's davallia smaller?

Prune the tallest or longest growth back to a node to hold marie's davallia at the size you want. Keep it slightly pot-bound and feed sparingly to cap the overall size. Remove the largest or oldest leaves to keep the footprint in check.

How can I make marie's davallia grow bigger or faster?

It already has good light; a yearly pot-up plus spring-summer feeding drives the fastest growth. Pot up a size every year or two while it is establishing. Feed and water consistently through the growing season for steady, faster size gain.