Java fern 'Windelov': the lace-tipped epiphyte fern

A selected java fern

'Windelov' (often written 'Windeløv') is a cultivated variety of the familiar java fern, named after Tropica founder Holger Windeløv. The species has been reclassified over the years — long known as Microsorum pteropus, it is now placed in Leptochilus pteropus — but in the tank it is the same tough Southeast Asian epiphyte fern hobbyists have grown for decades, simply selected for its distinctive leaf tips.

Leaves that end in lace

What sets 'Windelov' apart is the tip of every leaf: instead of tapering to a point, each blade divides repeatedly into a fine, crested fan of lacy fingers. The result is a softer, frillier silhouette than plain java fern, mid-green and slightly translucent. It stays more compact than the broad-leaved forms, which makes it a tidy choice for smaller layouts.

Attach it and forget it

Like all java ferns, 'Windelov' is an epiphyte: in nature it grows on wood and rock, not in the substrate, and the single most important rule is never to bury its rhizome (the horizontal green 'stem' the roots and leaves grow from). Buried, the rhizome rots. Instead, tie or glue it to wood or rock and let its roots grip. It thrives in low to moderate light, needs no CO₂, and copes with almost any water hardness, drawing modest nutrition from the water column. It is genuinely one of the easiest aquarium plants.

Parameter	Value
Lighting	Low to moderate; tolerates shade well
CO2	Not needed
Temperature	20–28°C
pH	6.0–7.5
Hardness	Soft to hard — very adaptable
Fertiliser	Light water-column feeder
Substrate	None — attach to wood or rock; never bury the rhizome
Growth rate	Slow
Placement	Attached to hardscape, midground
Difficulty	Easy

Softening wood and rock

'Windelov' is made for hardscape. Its lacy crests soften the hard lines of branchy wood and stone, and because it stays smaller than broad java fern it suits nano and midground positions where the plain form would overwhelm. It combines naturally with dwarf anubias and mosses in the classic low-tech, epiphyte-led scape that needs no special substrate.

Plantlets do the work

Java ferns propagate themselves: mature leaves develop tiny plantlets (adventitious daughter plants) along their edges and tips, each with its own little leaves and roots. Once a plantlet is well formed, detach it and attach it to new hardscape. You can also divide the rhizome, cutting it into sections that each keep leaves and roots. Both methods are slow but almost foolproof.

Rhizome rot and 'java fern melt'

A rotting, mushy rhizome is nearly always caused by burying it — keep it exposed on the hardscape. Browning or blackening patches on the leaves, sometimes called java fern melt, can look alarming; it is often a nutrient issue (potassium is frequently blamed, though it is not the only possible cause) or a response to disturbance, and it frequently coincides with plantlet formation as the old leaf is replaced. Slow growth is simply normal for the plant, not a fault. Given a stable spot, it is very hard to kill.

More plants in this series

• Java fern — the classic broad-leaved form
• Dwarf anubias — the other easy epiphyte
• African water fern — lacy epiphyte fern
• Christmas moss — hardscape companion
• Bucephalandra — slow epiphyte for wood and rock