Boston Fern looking bad.. brown leaves... thoughts? (city, potted, stop)

[rdlr]

Yeah, I don't mist mine, either. I water them heavily, every morning when they're in the shade, until water gushes out of the bottom. Once a week, I give them the Miracle Gro watering.

They have shown me that they are very happy!

[Hartwell Girl]

I have heard they like to be rootbound and you should not repot them..any feedback on this? I hung mine in these beautiful hangers this year and they seem to be doing fine but just wondered what others knew about them...

[LeavingSoCal]

Shade. Water. Frequent "haircuts". Ferns are tougher than u think, but do like water
but not to sit in.
Not dark shade, but shady, not direct sunlight

[mommastump16]

I have two rather big Boston ferns, last summer they looked great, this summer not so much. Lots of brown, from what I read in this forum, it is to much sun. They are on my back patio, which faces west and hanging from a gazebo. I water them daily. So I will clip off all the brown and move to a place with more shade. What about fern food? Should I?

[mommastump16]

rdlr ~ your picture looks awesome!
I water in the early evening, until it runs out the bottom. I will look into miracle grow for the ferns!

[Halo_in_reverse]

Hi all, I've been reading your posts in this thread. Some great tips for growing Boston ferns

I have 2 absolutely gorgeous Boston ferns that I got at the beginning of spring - these things are massive and the fronds are healthy and exceptionally full. I am in love with these two and hope they carry over to the winter indoors

In the last few days I've noticed that underneath each of them are little black seed looking things hundreds of them too! I looked up on the internet and think they might be spores. But the description of spores made me not 100% sure. I will try to get a picture this weekend. Has anyone had any experience with this? If so, did you try and use the spores to make "baby ferns"? How did you do it?

Thanks
-Halo

[greatblueheron]

Yes, those are the spores. I have not tried it but believe that to grow them, you need to have a moist towel, then transfer them to the towel, cover with moist cloth (not wet) and check frequently for new growth.

Bostons are very pretty in summer but if you must bring them in during winter, they tend to have a hard time.....unless you have a high humidity room with LOTS of light. A bathroom with good light is helpful....and you can place them on a tray of gravel with water in it, to keep the humidity up. But dry heat is the worst for them and it shows...

Or just clean up all those brown and dried leaves from the floor all winter...!

I love ferns and have others that do not shed so much or at all inside during winters: bird's nest, lady, rabbit foot ferns stay ok all yr with enough light.

Originally Posted by Halo_in_reverse

Hi all, I've been reading your posts in this thread. Some great tips for growing Boston ferns

I have 2 absolutely gorgeous Boston ferns that I got at the beginning of spring - these things are massive and the fronds are healthy and exceptionally full. I am in love with these two and hope they carry over to the winter indoors

In the last few days I've noticed that underneath each of them are little black seed looking things hundreds of them too! I looked up on the internet and think they might be spores. But the description of spores made me not 100% sure. I will try to get a picture this weekend. Has anyone had any experience with this? If so, did you try and use the spores to make "baby ferns"? How did you do it?

Thanks
-Halo

[Halo_in_reverse]

Originally Posted by greatblueheron

Yes, those are the spores. I have not tried it but believe that to grow them, you need to have a moist towel, then transfer them to the towel, cover with moist cloth (not wet) and check frequently for new growth.

Bostons are very pretty in summer but if you must bring them in during winter, they tend to have a hard time.....unless you have a high humidity room with LOTS of light. A bathroom with good light is helpful....and you can place them on a tray of gravel with water in it, to keep the humidity up. But dry heat is the worst for them and it shows...

Or just clean up all those brown and dried leaves from the floor all winter...!

I love ferns and have others that do not shed so much or at all inside during winters: bird's nest, lady, rabbit foot ferns stay ok all yr with enough light.

wow! Thanks for the info. I'll give it a try to see if I can grow some babies. I have a Florida room that's not heated but gets pretty warm in the afternoons during the winter. It does get lots of light but it gets pretty cold in there during the night time. I don't know what "zone" I'm in but I'm in Western North Carolina and we get some pretty rough winters. Will give it a shot - how long can I keep them outside?

[greatblueheron]

NC native, so I know your winters there!

Ferns are kinda finicky. They do not like dryness and do not like really cold-but cool is good.

A FLorida rm is great but you might need space heaters for cold ams and pms. Just watch how they do, they actually "tell" you when something is not right!

In your area, I would bring them in around mid Sept....while it might not be freezing yet, they need time to adjust before the heat comes on for good in winter.

Nice that you are so interested. Plants are awesome.
Check online for further info on spores and growing plants from them.

Originally Posted by Halo_in_reverse

wow! Thanks for the info. I'll give it a try to see if I can grow some babies. I have a Florida room that's not heated but gets pretty warm in the afternoons during the winter. It does get lots of light but it gets pretty cold in there during the night time. I don't know what "zone" I'm in but I'm in Western North Carolina and we get some pretty rough winters. Will give it a shot - how long can I keep them outside?

[rdlr]

About this time of summer, some of my fern leaves start turning brown, and it's not from lack of water. We've had some tremendous winds blowing from the east and the ferns got a little bruised from all those gusts. Today, I'll cut the brown sections out.