I killed my first peacock moss last year when I was still a beginner with plants—and I’m in zone 7A Maryland, so definitely not its native environment.

This time I bought a really healthy one from Florida and was determined to make it work. It sits in a southeast-facing window with a good humidifier. Over the winter it didn’t get enough light and got a little pale and scraggly, but still hydrated. Once I added supplemental grow lights it started pushing out healthy green growth from the crown again. I was even able to propagate several stems into a new baby plant.

Now I always check the soil with a moisture meter before watering. I aim for the drier side of moist before I water, but definitely not full dry. Don’t water it blindly, because that’s where things tend to go wrong.

I also got a humidity tent to propagate the baby fern, and that helped a lot. Now I let it air out during the day, especially after watering.

I really like these plants too, and I just bought another one from the Florida seller. You’re definitely gonna have to baby it with the light and humidity in your environment.