Beginner Gardening: Autumn Ferns & White Leaflets & Brown Tips, 1 by SavvyDaze

SavvyDaze wrote:
Originally, I posted this in the Ferns, Mosses, & Fungi forum, but after several days got no replies. So, I figured I try my problem over here...

I have several Autumn Ferns in the ground in various spots throughout my backyard, and each area has varying degrees of sun, although, none are in full sun. A few receive direct morning sun for a few hours, while others receive late afternoon sun, or filtered/dappled sun throughout the day. The ferns continue to grow fine and even now in December continue to put up new fronds.

Probably back in early September, I noticed on most of the ferns that a healthy green frond would eventually develop one or two white leaflets in the middle or near the top. Sometimes these white leaflets may or may not have brown tips. On some ferns, a white leaflet will develop on one side of a fern, and on the other side a perfectly green frond will have a brown curling tip, or a few slightly browning/or dead tips on some leaflets, but not on all of them. (I recently noticed as of yesterday 12/10, that on a few ferns, there is a dead frond frond or two at the base. They are small as if they were new growth that only grew 3 to 5 inches before they turned white and started dying.)

This didn't happen last year at all, so I am not sure what is going on with them. I tried to research this issue on the internet, and one website said the white leaflets were bleached from receiving too much sun, while another website said it was lack of water and the fern is unable to to send enough water to ends of the fronds resulting in white leaflets. I could understand the latter but on some fronds the white leaflets are in the middle and the ones at the top are green. So I think it would be odd that water reached the whole frond except for two leaflets in the middle. As for the explanation being that it received too much sun...I don't think this is the case since the ferns are in the same spots as they were last year and received the same amount/degree of sun and this did not happen. Besides, even the ferns in dappled shade are having this same issue.

I hope someone here can help me understand what is happening here.