Pleopeltis polypodioides occupies a similar ecological niche to its southeastern US relative but ranges from South Florida through the American tropics into southern Mexico, growing on leaning trunks, fallen logs, and rock faces wherever organic matter accumulates and rainfall comes and goes in cycles. For much of its cultivation history it was confused with the NC native P. michauxiana, and the two were listed under the same name until taxonomy caught up. Hardy in zones 6 to 10, this species is typically grown as a houseplant or conservatory specimen outside its native range, mounted on cork or driftwood where it can dry and re-wet naturally.

An east- or south-facing window provides adequate light for indoor growing; in summer it benefits from a spell outdoors in filtered shade where natural rainfall can take over. The resurrection capacity is the same as its relatives — fronds curl and gray during dry periods, resume photosynthesis rapidly after watering — and watching that recovery never quite loses its fascination. Fertilize sparingly; this is a plant evolved to extract what it needs from thin air and rain, not from a rich growing medium.