Keeping Fittonia bushy isn’t that tricky – if you can care for a fittonia, you can grow one to be bushy.
Make sure it has enough light
Fittonia are pretty happy in most kinds of light BUT a decent amount will allow them to grow their leaves closer together so they’ll look bushier.
If they grow in a dark spot that then stretch towards the light and look spindly and sad. The leaves are smaller too.
They don’t really need a huge amount of bright light – they would prefer long hours or ok light – an east window is great.
Pot up multiple plants together
Is it cheating? Maybe. Does it work? Yes.
Fittonia are cheap! If yours looks sad and lonely buy it a friend! Buy it five!
Prune it often
If your fittonia is growing well, pruniting it can cause the stems to branch so you’ll end up with a bushier looking plant.
However, just hacking at your sad fittonia probably won’t help much.
Note: not all plants will grow bushy if you chop them. Fittonia are ground cover – their job is to spread out as quickly as they can over the ground. If they grow in a bushy way, they’ll cover the ground faster. Climbing plants like Pothos and Monstera don’t really branch – instead they grow their leaves bigger and closer together on the (one) stem.
Chop and prop regularly
This a combination of potting multiple together and chopping. But first you chop (to encourage branching) but you propagate the bits you cut off and then pot them altogether.
Fertilise it often
Cards on the table – this probs won’t do anything. But you never know! I often go long stretches of never feeding my plants (literally years) and then try feeding them every time I water. it doesn’t make that much of a difference (if any).
Try not to let it wilt
Again, not sure how true this is BUT there’s a rumour that if you regularly let your fittonia wilt it’ll weaken over time and won’t grow as full.
Is it true? Probably not, but not letting it dry out isn’t a bad idea. If you tend to forget your plants exist *raises hand* then keep your fittonia on the coffee table (next ot any maidenhair ferns and baby plants that will NOT appreciate a drought).
