Button fern (Pellaea rotundifolia) doesn’t look like a typical fern, and it doesn’t act like one either. Instead of thin, feathery fronds, it grows small, round, leathery leaflets that really do look like rows of dark green buttons stitched along a wiry, cinnamon-colored stem. That leathery texture isn’t just for looks — it’s why this fern tolerates drier air and less frequent watering than almost any other fern you can grow indoors.

Light

Button fern wants bright, indirect light, and it also tolerates medium light better than most ferns, making it more flexible about placement than something like a maidenhair fern. Direct sun, especially through an unfiltered south or west window, will scorch the leaflets and bleach them out, so keep it a few feet back from harsh direct rays. A few feet from an east-facing window, or just off to the side of a bright south-facing one, works well.

Watering

This is the plant’s real selling point. Where most ferns want soil that stays evenly moist at all times, button fern’s thick, waxy leaflets let it handle the top inch or two of soil drying out between waterings without complaint. Water thoroughly when the topsoil feels dry, then let it drain completely — don’t let the pot sit in standing water. If you’re coming from a Boston fern or similar, this is a real change in habit: see watering houseplants the right way for the general approach to watering on a dry-down-first schedule rather than a fixed calendar.

That said, “more drought-tolerant than other ferns” doesn’t mean drought-tolerant in absolute terms. Button fern still isn’t a succulent, and going too long without water will cause leaflets to shrivel and drop. It just has more buffer than its relatives, which is why it turns up on lists of houseplants for dry climates where a typical fern would struggle.

Soil and pot

Use a loose, well-draining potting mix — a standard houseplant mix works fine, and you don’t need to load it up with extra peat or coco coir the way you would for a moisture-hungry fern. What matters more is a pot with a drainage hole, since button fern’s roots are more sensitive to sitting in soggy soil than they are to a stretch of dryness. A pot only slightly larger than the root ball is fine, since this fern doesn’t mind being a little snug.

Humidity

Button fern is unusually tolerant of average indoor humidity, which is the other half of what makes it easier to keep than a Boston fern or bird’s nest fern. It doesn’t need a bathroom or a humidifier to look good, though it will reward higher humidity with slightly glossier, fuller growth. If your home runs very dry, especially with heat or AC running constantly, see how to increase humidity for houseplants for ways to raise it — but treat this as a nice-to-have for button fern, not a requirement the way it is for most ferns.

Toxicity

Button fern is non-toxic to cats and dogs, so it’s a reasonable choice if you have pets that like to chew on plants. For more options along the same lines, see this list of pet-safe houseplants.

Common problems

Shriveled, curling leaflets almost always mean the soil went too long without water. Button fern tolerates some dryness, but not weeks of neglect — soak the pot thoroughly and it usually bounces back within a couple of weeks unless the damage is severe.

Blackened or mushy leaflets point to overwatering or a pot without drainage. Let the soil dry out further between waterings and check that water is actually draining out of the pot rather than pooling at the bottom.

Bleached or scorched patches come from direct sun exposure. Move the plant a few feet back from the window; the damaged leaflets won’t recover, but new growth will be fine once the light is corrected.

Sparse, leggy growth usually means too little light rather than too much. Move it somewhere brighter before reaching for fertilizer — a button fern that isn’t getting enough light won’t fill in no matter how well you feed it.