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#355490 Apr 2nd, 2012 at 12:03 AM
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kmh97 Offline OP
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My grandfather passed away a month ago, and the plant I took home from his funeral is a Silver Table Fern. I watered it for the first time 2 weeks ago, and apparantly I over watered it. Now it is really sick looking. I took it out of the pot a week ago and have been putting it on newspapers and paper towels to help draw the moisture out of it. I am really worried it will not come back. The leaves are crispy but still green. When I took it out of the pot, it was a mass of roots and soil. The roots wrap all the way around the soil. I am afaid if I try to break apart the soil, it will damage the roots even more. Does anyone have any good tips on getting this plant healthy again?

kmh97 #355496 Apr 2nd, 2012 at 07:50 AM
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Welcome to the forum, kmh97! wavy

I can't help you...I have killed every fern I ever had. But, someone here will come along and be able to help you out, I'm sure. I can just look at a fern and it dies for some reason.


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afgreyparrot #355502 Apr 2nd, 2012 at 09:47 AM
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Hi KMH97,, Welcome to the garden helper,,
For your Silver lace table fern,,
Provide plenty of light. Keep bright, indirect light in the room where your silver lace fern is displayed if it is kept indoors.No direct sunlight,

Keep it moist. Water as needed. Check daily to ensure the soil is still moist but not real wet, more like a damp sponge. Do not allow your silver lace fern to ever become dry.


Fertilize once a month from spring thru early fall with fern fish emulsion. It needs a light to medium loamy soil, cut off all dried leaves, to "refresh it" and to enable it's energy to concentrate on health growths.
most if not all ferns prefer high humidity environments, so
If grown as a potted houseplant, place pot on a saucer filled with clean gravel and water to ensure proper humidity and mist frequently. Trim or pinch off dried fronds to keep it tidy and pretty. . Repot once yearly to revitalize soil and increase growth rate. Keep an eye out for pests like scale insects or mealybugs.




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angelblossom #355510 Apr 2nd, 2012 at 11:09 PM
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So, it seems to be drying out pretty good since I over watered it but it looks pretty sick yet. Now, I'm wondering if it needs a little water. The soil is just damp.

What is the best place to place this fern? I've read bathrooms, but I wonder if it would get enough light in there? I would like to keep it in the living room or kitchen when it is healthy. We have a big picture window that faces East, or I have a side window that faces north. Or in the kitchen it would get light from the west.

Also, when I took it out of the pot, it is a mass of roots and soil, I wonder if it should be replanted already?


Thanks for the tips!
I didn't realize ferns were so hard to care for.....

kmh97 #355513 Apr 3rd, 2012 at 01:09 AM
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Once you find it's happy place, it won't be hard to care for it. Put it in a room that has lots of light, but don't let the sun shine right onto it. If your room isn't a humid room, you can mist it's leaves to give it humidity....they like that.


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kmh97 #355826 Apr 15th, 2012 at 11:42 PM
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Well we went on vacation for a week and I thought when I got back that maybe the plant would look a little better but it doesn't. The leaves are still droopy and crispy. I have it in a window that faces north. We live in Wisconsin and right now our weather is not humid so our house is pretty dry. I have had the plant in the bathroom, I have misted it's leaves, put it in a different window, but nothing seems to make it look better. Wonder if it needs to be re potted?

kmh97 #356182 Apr 26th, 2012 at 03:33 AM
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I repotted and fertilized and still it looks sick. I'm not sure if it is completely dead or what but I would like to save it if it is still alive. I really do not know what else to do!

kmh97 #356186 Apr 26th, 2012 at 04:02 AM
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erns are sometime tricky.
They look like dead an come back months later.
Thought they liked it moist?


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kmh97 #356436 May 4th, 2012 at 01:19 AM
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Any chance of getting a picture of the fern??? How big is the pot?? A friend of mine has a couple of plants that like a tropical setting (read: high humidity), so she has put the pots into shallow pots that are wider than the plant pots and have filled the shallow pots with water to keep up with the plants' demands for humidity (spraying her plants wasn't enough for them). It seems to have worked for her plants, so when I saw this today I thought of you and your fern.


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