What is this?

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bobyrd Conroe, TX(Zone 9a) Oct 09, 2008

Could someone tell me what this is growing out of my firecracker fern? It looks like something alien!

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JuneyBug Dover AFB, DE(Zone 7a) Oct 09, 2008

It is called witches broom. It is a response to some kind of stress.

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bobyrd Conroe, TX(Zone 9a) Oct 09, 2008

should I do anything with or about it?

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JuneyBug Dover AFB, DE(Zone 7a) Oct 09, 2008

I wish an expert would pipe up about right now.
Trim it off as much as possible and use alcohol to clean your tools.
Buy a bag of compost and topdress the entire rootzone area. Fluff up the soil a bit, the mulch too. Your task is to make sure that this plant has everything it needs to be healty again. If it has enough sun, uncompacted soil, fresh air circulation it may recover. Or not. It may be too far gone even if it looks OK.
This witches broom can be caused by anything from a bug laying an egg in the stalk, fungus, bacteria, a scratch in the wrong spot...
One of it's other names is fascination and I remember seeing a Victorian wall hanging that used them from all the different plants and trees to make a formal garden scene.

Best of luck with this,
Nan

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imzadi Jackson, SC(Zone 8a) Oct 09, 2008

do a search on witches broom. sometimes the plant doesnt survive. good advic e above

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