Comments on: IQ-tips: help save our fern!

By: RORY

RORY — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:59:30 +0000

your fern is spearopteris genus and probably not atrox wich has very orange tomentos scales. judging by the fronds your plant is not getting enough water simple as that. if the new fronds twist slightly and are deformd then it is a desease called rizoctonia and the plant will die

By: medea

medea — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 03:54:30 +0000

Could it be that it senses your cannibalistic instincts to eat its young and si it shies away from you? ;)

By: David

David — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 03:39:37 +0000

wow! thanks y’all. i’m going to check for bugs, and look at these links, and try to figure out what’s what. we live in LA, so i don’t think it’s a seasonal thing, but our birch is shedding some leaves, so maybe!

stay tuned!

By: Ron

Ron — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 23:22:16 +0000

Most ferns shed their leaves (they are deciduous, not evergreen) in the winter, so, if you live in a temperate climate and the deciduous trees in your area are beginning to turn, it may be very natural.

By: ASHLEY

ASHLEY — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 19:12:13 +0000

I agree with Miss Cellania…I worked as a caregiver for a woman with lots of plants. Around this time of year her ferns would start to “die” I freaked out the first year, but then they grew back in the spring. They’re very resilient, like the sharks of plants-little has changed in them since the dinosaur days

By: Jason!

Jason! — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 18:48:50 +0000

I googled this. Hope it helps…

http://www.gardenadvice.co.uk/howto/trees/ferns/index.html

By: Miss Cellania

Miss Cellania — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:26:38 +0000

I think they are suffering from Autumn. They’ll likely grow back next spring. Mine do.

By: PeteRepeat42

PeteRepeat42 — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:25:53 +0000

If it is bugs, a plant friendly approach is to spray a biodegradable soap and water mixture onto the leaves. It doesn’t hurt the plant, but the soap particles break the hydrogen bonds in the water, allowing it to go into the bugs’ breathing openings. This works nicely for ants if you don’t want Raid fumes (I use Windex on ant trails in my house).

Good luck! I hate it when plants die.

By: Pam

Pam — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 16:19:43 +0000

Well, I’m not so knowledgeable about plants….but I am an avid coffee drinker so I can tell you this: Coffee grinds work great as fertilizer and you can go into any Starbucks coffee and they usually give you used grinds for free. You should check it out, try adding some to the soil.

Good luck

By: Gina

Gina — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 15:59:54 +0000

My ferns didn’t start growing well until I used an acidic fertilizer (like one you would use for azaleas, etc.)