I am considerning Benjamin Moore Maidenhair Fern 500 for my kitchen. Glazed Green #499 is too minty and light. If I had #500 reduced by 25% would it look more like #499 or would it be just a little lighter than 500 but not by much? I don't want to keep shelling out over $5.00 to Sherwin Williams to get their samples of other companies paints. I just want to make sure that this time I get it right. Limesickle lost its green and was too light and Pittsburgh Paint Bahia Grass is to dark and yucky. We have decided not to redo our kitchen which is almond formica and just repaint, change knobs and whatever else I can think of. Some walls get afternoon sun, some wall are always dark and the almond formica is not as light as one would think so the kitchen color can't be too muddy or light in order to look good with the almond formica. In the shadowy corners, a lot of greens look like pea soup. The floor put in by the original owners is a brownish, rusty, goldish ceramic tile. The dining room which is visible from the kitchen is BM Vellum.#207. I don't want gold for the kitchen as I think I need a contrast. We hired electricians about 3 years ago to install recessed lighting and I didn't know enough about placement, I trusted them and now I don't want to go into more expense to redo mistakes. I would like to do the painting myself but I have never painted before. It might be fun.

Maybe try the houseplant forum. This one is pretty dead.

I've tried growing these things in my house before and they are indeed finicky. They need substantial humidity to thrive--have you done anything to supplement humidity where it's growing? I've also never understood that ice cube thing; I've heard about it being done with orchids and didn't get it. We're trying to provide conditions as close to the plant's native habitat as possible to get it to thrive, and I'm sure these plants don't receive an incredibly slow trickle of icy water in their tropical homes. Usually watering with lukewarm water is recommended because some plants are sensitive to cold water. As long as you're watering it thoroughly enough that water comes out the drainage holes and the soil is saturated throughout, you shouldn't need to also do the ice cube thing :)

I think this convo spurred me to try again, and I got an Adiantum aleuticum 'Imbricatum', and it apparently likes where I planted it (outside..not a house plant), and still has nearly perfect fronds (mild winter), we shall see. They are lovely...though the challenge for me may be the wetness of early to mid spring for it. The planting location is on the north side of the house, and it gets shaded by a growth of mimulus alatus (winged monkey flower) and it came through summer fantastically. I hope to see spore spread in a year or two, shield fern, lady fern, and painted ferns have performed well for me here and spread along the house foundation area.