I am looking for advice on how to successfully grow Nephrolepsis exaltata Petticoat ( the Petticoat Fern). This is a new experience for me and to this point I am doing an abysmal job. I have pretty good luck with ferns but have had none so challenging as this lovely little plant. I just adore the plant but now it is becoming an obsession to get this thing to look decent. Help !!!
If it is like the regular Boston Fern, it likes shady moist conditions. The soil should be neither dry nor soggy. Slightly acidic, which comes from soils high in organic matter. It hates dry heat, and remember that the fronds only live about 2 years, so one without the mass of dead leaf rachises in the middle of the clump represents a lot of work. Divide every 2 or 3 years.
You don't say specifically what your problem is. Is it the mass of dead stuff in the middle? I have these manic phases that I harness. I can start with a plant that looks like a Yak's coat and end with a plant that I could give to someone. Lacking a manic phase, maybe prescription drugs?
One way around this is to root some of the stolens every year. A 3 or 4 year old plant looks the best, after that they are root bound and littered with old fronds. This spring I plan to just cut one back almost to the soil level to see if that obviates the need for constant pruning of the leftover brown midrib.
