Austral Gem fern stays compact and tidy indoors, a relief if you've wrestled with the sprawling ambitions of other varieties. Its fine-textured fronds have a soft, almost delicate quality that brightens a shelf or table without demanding much floor space.

Keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged, and give it indirect light away from heating vents. In this dry indoor air, a light misting every week or two makes a real difference.