Fern with intersting problem

I don't know how this happened or how to fix it. any body got any ideas?

I don't know that much about ferns, but is there any chance that you let it get too dry or had it in an area that was a little too sunny for it?

not sure we've had so much rain here that some of my houseplants that didn't have darin holes are floating! I mean how much rain does it take to make a palm tree float!

I agree with Ecrane, too much sun, too much water, not enough water or too much fertilizer....ferns don't need much, or too strong a draft from the A/c over drying the fronds.

never fertilized & kept on covered porch...weird part is the brown parts aren't dry or dead...they're still growing, just brown instead of green...never seen anything like it before....I thought maybe rust at first but all the new fronds are coming out brown too...definately needs transplanted...but just wondered if anyone else has ever seen something like this before

If new fronds are growing out brown, it would seem to be be something wrong with the plants ability to produce chlorophyll, which in turn causes the leaves to yellow out.....and, since it can't produce chlorophyll, it can't feed itself.....why or what caused this, I am at a loss to answer, possibly some kind of root damage???

I'm afraid to bring it back in the house with the other houseplants in case it is contagious! should I rinse the soil completely from the roots and repot it and see what happens or just call it a lost cause?

I would un-pot it if for no other reason than to get a look at the roots and see if something has taken up residence, or mold/fungus infection....at this point it is a buckdancer's choice, it will or will not survive if you do nothing....so, give it a shot.

its dark now so I will try that tomorrow! Hate to loose it because its the first time i got one to grow! can this one be planted outside or is it strictly the houseplant kind?

Allow me to show my ignorance, I am not very familiar with ferns, is that a Boston Fern? If so, this link may help.


http://www.thegardenhelper.com/bigboston.htm

I'm not sure what it is...I "rescued" it from Wal-Mart but it didn't have a tag...I have lots of those kinds of plants...no clue what they are but their growing great

looks like the dog or cat peed on it. I would cut out all the brown, move it to safer ground and see what happens.

I can honestly say it wasn't peed in...however one of my boys just fessed up to spraying some weed killer in the back and messing around with it..so I think I found the culprit..and its the two-legged kind which are definately more destructive than any fungus or bug!

So sorry your fern became a kid casualty.......another mystery is how they survive to adulthood.....makes you understand why some animals eat their young.....GRIN

Don't be too hard on him he's showing gardening interest and besides he may grow up to be as good as we are at it lol.

yeah He's the only one who out of 5 who does show interest. weird part is he's 14 and follows me everywhere...some days i swear if I stop suddenly he's gonna knock me over!

enjoy it for another year and he won't want to be around you, busy with friends. Have three grown children. The good part is they always find their way back and if your lucky get sweet in-law and maybe grandkids that look like em.

He's my step-son...serious abandonment issues...he may always stick around...he doesn't hang out with kids because as he says.."there all stoned, drinking, or getting pregnant, and I want to go to law school" He's also dead in the center of the 5 and the most responsible...love em to death...but we call him my shadow

well smart people want to be with smart people. He sees you as a mentor. So many messed up kids in this world, makes you want to strangel a lot of parents.

Is he also your husband's step son? or did I get things crossed?

No he's definately my hubbys boy! the 19 year old isn't, the 15 year old has only lived with us for 2 years, that's a nightmare situation...makes you want to kill DCFS people, but this one was his only son until we found out about the 15 yr. old. My kids the only blonde one...This one is named Austin he's 14, and when all the kids are home and we have to go somewhere, he's the one we leave in charge because the 2 older ones can't be trusted, and the other 2 are still to immature

Holey moley....what oriental did you upset? There is an old Chinese curse that says "May you live in interesting times..."
Blessed be, you have your hands full.

maybe I should explain better
Matthew is 19 he is rob's ex'x kid whenshe left 5 years ago she left him.
Blake is 15 he is supposedly rob's with a woman named Kelly...He was born in Iowa, where apparently all a woman has to do is put a name on the birth certificate, the man never has to be notified and doesn't get the right to a paternity test. well we didn't know anything was wrong with Blake's living situation until his mother died. When she died Iowa DCFS released their records to us...where we discovered that his grandmother took Blake from his mother & locked her in the basement..where she proceeded to abuse the crap out of him & his mother until she died and we were notified and filed for custody

at a loss for words....but really feel angry..and sad.

They had 218 founded reports and still wouldn't let him see this kid or turn custody over to rob...they just kept giving him back to grandma. So now we have a 15 year old who's been taught his whole life to lie, cheat, steal, or just take what you want when you want it...and that it's ok to tell people your going to kill them or rape them...he's definately a challenge

Good thoughts and best wishes for finding the key....long hard road to travel.

it gets hard because he doesn't care that his actions are heading for prison or that he's hurting his brothers and sisters

If you unpot the fern, cut all top growth off, shake off the soil and repot it (if the roots look normal), it may regrow normally. Worth a try.

There is only so much you and his father can do, the rest is up to him....hears hoping wisdom catches his attention before anger consumes him.

very true moon..and dp I'll try that and see what happens

Is the brown part brittle? If not, it could be an Autumn Fern & they have new growth that is brown & dead looking but is soft to the touch. If it is brittle I would cut that out down to the dirt & keep well watered & it will fill back in before you know it. Mine love to be just drenched in water. Figured that out when I noticed how lush they were after we had twice the rain we normally get a few years ago.

Judy

its definately soft and not brittle, used to be a lucious green, now just suddenly brown

I am FAR from being a pro, but... we have very similar looking ferns in our conservation land and the first year we moved in, I thought I'd killed them for lack of water or something because they started to look like that - right about this time of year, in fact. I think they're just done for the season about now but, of course, I'm in New England so it could be different in IL!

I figured out was wrong with it...one of the kids stuck it in front of the dryer vent when we put the plants out for the summer and didn't tell me...and of course I didn't notice it either so its partly my fault

Cooked greens.....owie, Trina...well, at least they didn't spray it with roundup....grin

Roundup, heck what they were spraying in that area was total vegetation destroyer! got a bed full of nasty weeds that has been runover! I had sparyed it earlier to kill everything out of it so I could plant strawberries there next spring...thats what they were messing with surprised they didn't kill every houseplant I got!

I would say kids will be kids, but I think you know that.....grin

the 15 yr old pulled a real nice one yesterday at school...trying very hard not to wake him in the middle of the night with a "Code Red" party as my army brat raising says to do!

Instincts are usually right trina...may be the thing that gets his attention...no matter how much you love a kid, sometimes you have to put your foot down...not on the kid but next to them loud enough to wake them up...grin

he decided it was ok to punch his teacher...his very tiny pregnant female teacher in the head because he didn't agree with her...

and in the military a "code red" is where you wake up with your baunk mates beating the holly &*&&^^ out of you with a roll of quarters in their socks because they are tired of getting in trouble for you being a s&^w up!