ferns????

i recieved a bunch of ferns from a auction-I sent one to janice in a trade-
she had a good ?s-the old leaves are turning brown and the new starts are fine and green.
what is going on with this????
i try to keep the soil moist!
HELP
dori

Thanks Dori---I will watch this thread. I am sure its something I am doing, nothing to do with the quality of the plant. It was perfectly healthy ( and so cute!) when I got it.
Thanks again
Janice

Dori,
Just a stab in the dark... Did they maybe get damaged by the cold during shipping?
Are you giving them light? Not to much they like shade.

I have wild ferns in my woods and have transplanted them into my shade beds several times..

the ones growing in my beds right now have some green and brown leaves and the new starts are curled up still at the base.

When I transplant them they do better in the fall. Then in the spring I cut all the brown leaves off, sometimes there are no green leaves left but they come out of it.

Dont worry about it, a lot of ever green ferns shed there fronds in spring ready for the new ones to appear,they start to go brown and drop, i have a lot of ferns in my garden, they are my favorite plant, and three species are doing the same, they do it every year, so its nothing to worry about, as long as the new fronds are ok it will be fine.

Alan.

Alan-thanks lots-I luv ferns too...but i've had 2 angel hair ferns-Ive killed them both!!! I also have a cobra fern-any added info would be appreciated. I'm working on a shade garden this year! I want to get a Japanese and cinammon fern
happy growing,
dori

I dont know those Dori, I have seen the cobra fern though, angel hair fern sounds interesting, do you know the latin name.

Alan.

I don't know the Latin name for Angel Hair ferns but they are sometimes refered to as five finger ferns. They grow best in shady areas where it stays damp but not soggy all the time. Here in the redwoods they grow on damp canyon walls along creek beds where they cling to the sides and turn it into an emerald wall of feathery green.I have best luck with them when I keep them in pots in the shade garden so that they drain freely and I water them every day, twice in the warmest part of summer. If you saw Jurrasic Park there are several scenes in it taken in Fern Canyon where these ferns create a blanket of green on the steep hillsides along the creek.

Dori? I think I am killing the one I got from you in trade. Hoping to keep it alive long enough to plant outside- everything seems to do much better (for me anyway) when its outside.
Janice

Zanymuse, you paint a nice picture, it sounds lovely there, i am very much a fan of the humble fern, i have several already, and i am always getting more.

janice, dont worry just yet, but put the fern in a cool place, look into the crown, if it has new fronds in the center it will be fine, small ferns dont like to travel much, but dont give up on it yet.

Got to tell ya'll this fern story...

I live in south west KY and this winter was pretty brutal as far as our regular temps go.We were not above the freezing mark from Dec. 11 to Jan 4.We had snow off and on that wouldn't dissapear and lots of people had problems with water lines freezing.

We rent a lot that a mobile home sits on and the mobile home was sold this Jan. We agreed to let the new owner keep it on our lot.

Anyway,he opened up the underpinning to check out the water lines before he turned on the water and it looked like a jungle under there! It was underpinned with the opaque fiberglass and so filtered light was available.

I counted 5 different kinds of ferns and they were as green and lush as the dead of summer!All of this is in an open field where there are no trees and haven't been for 50 years. The mobile home was moved onto the property 7 years ago and it was just a grass field. Were the fern spores in the ground from all those years ago? Where did they come from?

If anyone is intrested,I'll take a picture of this and post it this weekend.You gotta see it to believe it.

Melody I look forward to seeing the picture! Sounds great.

Hello Melody, Fern spores can last a very long time, decades, just waiting for the right conditions, and the mobile home gave them it, unless they are given new shade they may well die off in the summer, like to see it though, it has to be a one off sight to see.

Alan.

As soon as it stops raining,I'll get right over there and take some.

I plan on transplanting as many as possible this spring.Would anyone care for some????

I've got an exellent field guide for wild ferns so I'll try to get them all identified. I know there were Sensitive ferns.Lady ferns ,Christmas ferns and some kind of spleenwort.It's been so muddy and nasty,I haven't been over there in several days. The home is 16x70 and the whole underneath is absolutely carpeted with these things.

I guess the minimal heat that they've had on kept the underneath temperate enough to promote this lush growth.
anyway,I'll keep everyone posted.

Wow Melody! What a phenomena. Would just love to see these ferns and also will accept any that you want to get off your hands. How about you e-mail me. Thanx.
Sayre

Got a picture posted. It's called Winter ferns. Now if someone would help this e-challenged person to figure out how to post the link over to it I'd sure be grateful.

I've had several people ask about adopting some of these and I'll let them know shortly.We still have a couple of weeks that we can get frost and I don't want to ship them to where thay might freeze.

I'll be in touch and keep everyone informed about the right time fo mailing.

I saw the pic thats crazy-Id luv to have a couple-please email me when ready to send! that is so neat!
dori

notmartha, how are your ferns loking now ?, the ones you started the thread about.

Yes, I am curious about your little ones too.
I feel that they should be ok,but would love an update.
Let us know how they're getting along.

they are still about the same-the new spurs kep coming up and the older full ones are green with some brown and where the brown is they start to curl.
hoping they make it till I can plant outside!

Sounds like normal die off of the mature fronds. It may be the stress from moving them brought it on earlier,or more intensly. But I think they'll be fine.Try to keep them kind of dormant and that should help.