Can someone please help me? I bought this fern last year, I believe it's a silver lace. When I bought it, it was full and healthy. I had it outside in the shade and it started slowly declining so I brought it in the house. Once in the house, it slowly started growing new leaves, but is still not healthy. It looks like its struggling. Does anyone know how these plants work? What am I doing wrong?
I have 2 Silverlace ferns that I bought last year in 4 inch pots. I planted them in filtered shade, watered daily or every other day when there was no rain, and they grew beautifully. When fall came, I didn't know if they would survive winter, so I put them in pots and brought them in the house. I put them in the window sill in the bathroom so they would get about 3 hours of morning sun. It wasn't long before the edges of the leaves stared turning brown and dying. Even new growth, which was really slow, developed brown tips. I made sure no AC/ Heater vent was hitting them, made sure they had good humidity and kept the soil moist. I fed them every 2 weeks with Fish Emulsion. Still nothing I did helped them grow. Finally, in March I got fed up, took them outside, cut off dead or brown fronds, planted them back in the ground, and watered them. New fronds shot up in a week or two and they are beginning to look good again.
I wish I had a solution for you. The only thing I can think of that I would do different is not to pot it in ceramic or clay pots.These types of pots dry out really fast. Never let the fern dry out. Always keep the soil moist, but not soaking wet. I would add water to the saucer and let the fern soak up water that way. I'd keep filling the saucer until the fern stopped soaking it up, then I would dump the excess water out of the saucer.
Thank you so very much for all the info! I'm happy to hear your plants came back. I'll try planting them in the ground and I'll see if it likes it. Again, thanks :)
I had container plants that sat for 6 weeks without growing I finally pulled one out of the soil and there were about a million 1/4 in. long white worms and all the roots were missing on the plants.....may want to check that. I just posted a question about the worms. If you know anything...let me know. Thanks and good luck.
Thanks Kittens, I'll check it out. Good luck to you also. :)
nefitara--
My first thought was the the fern is over watered.
Then--everyone was telling you to water it more--every day...
pour water in the saucer, etc....
First of all--Ferns NEED HUMIDITY--NOT to be confused with watering.
Ferns do not wilt when dry--but they hate wet feet. Misting is the solution.
Of course--the soil should be moist--but too much watering and your Fern
will not grow.
When you planted it outside--where it should have been--it recovered...
Give ferns a filtered shady spot and they will thrive..
Extra water from rains drains away through the soil and all is well.
kittens--
Sounds like you had an infestation of Fungus Gnat larva.
Fungus Gnats lay eggs in MOIST soil and the larva develop--and feed on the
plant's roots. A systemic drench will take care of the larva.
To keep Gnats from laying eggs in your pots--keep them on the dry side--
sprinkle Diotomaceous earth on the surface--but be careful not to breathe
any of it in. It is minute silica crystals (glass) and can damage your lungs.
You can also do a layer of sand or pebbles or crushed egg shells.
Adult Fungus Gnats fly around and always "bug" you. However--if they cannot
get into the soil to lay their eggs, the adult Fungus Gnat life span is about 2-3 weeks. Prevention is the cure!
Gita
Gitagal, the reason I dug up the ferns and brought them inside in the fall is because they are not hardy here & I didn't want them to die. While they didn't do so great indoors for me, at least they were kept alive during the coldest months (Jan & Feb). Had I of left them in the ground during those months, they probably would have died completely during a frost or freeze. While inside, if I wasn't running a humidifier in the room I kept them in, then I misted them daily...and sometime twice (morning and night). I never let them dry out but they weren't kept in soggy soil either. Apparently, despite misting and using the humidifier, the humidity still wasn't high enough for them. Don't know what else I could have done for them indoors. Perhaps this fall, I will leave them in the ground and take my chances...maybe cover them on nights we are predicted to have a frost or freeze.
have you had much luck with humidity trays?
http://www.repotme.com/humidity-trays/
They arent perfect but together with misting help. Can also take a plastic bag and cover or partially cover. Also bathrooms while you shower are good places for plants that love humidity.
Savydaze--
Have you checked if it is a houseplant type of a Fern?
Or--if it is an outside-growing fern?
here's a solution for you....
next summer--take the pot outside-dig the pot in 3/4 of a ways
instead of planting the fern in the ground...
Then just lift the pot out to bring it in for the winter.
Keeps the roots undisturbed.
Make sure the soil is nor heavy--use a light mix.
I think having dug it up and re-potted the fern further damaged the roots.
Just my 2 cents....Gita
Thank you everyone!! I'm going to go look up humidity trays and see what that's all about.
Gitagal, well, I dug up the ferns last fall and potted them up in September. Here in coastal SC, it doesn't get really cold until January. I left them in the pots outside until the beginning of December and for those 2 months they continued to grow just fine. So, I don't think the roots were damaged. However, I think I will bury them in pots come next spring :-)
