Keeping ferns happy through the winter

Once the radiators come on, the air indoors gets dry very quickly, and ferns are the first to complain. The Boston fern by the window starts dropping little brown leaflets onto the floor within a week.

What has worked for me

• A tray of pebbles and water under the pots, refilled every couple of days.
• Moving the plants away from the radiator, even if the light is a bit worse.
• Watering less often, but checking the soil with a finger rather than by the calendar.

The maidenhair is still sulking. I have accepted this.

In spring I will repot the bird's nest fern; its roots are already peeking out of the bottom.