Hi Hemant. I don't know if I'm thinking of the same product, gel crystals, but back in the 90's I planted a Plumosis Fern, (not a true fern) in a substance that, once water is added it turns into a jello-like substance.
If it's the same stuff it worked great. I didn't add additional soil or soil-less mix.
I too bought red..I planted in a really nice transparent container. In other words, the red jelly and roots could be seen through the pot.
Wish I could rememeber the name of this product. It came in different colors including red, blue, yellow and green.
Even though the gel lasted a long time, every six-eight months, more gel had to be added, otherwise it evaporate.
I found this gel at Home Depot. I don't know if they stopped making it or what, but Home Depot no longer sold it, nor could I find it elsewhere. This was in the mid 90's..After running out, my Plumosis was then repotted in regular soil.

IMO, your fern should do fine. (if it's the same stuff I used.)
Does the package have instructions? Explain when to water? Do you have a picture? Oh, does it say soil should be added, too, or did you come up with the idea yourself?

I searched polymer gel crystals before replying to your thread. It said, if kept in too much sun the stuff turns slimy. Although Boston Ferns needs light, they'd burn in direct sun, especially in summer.
You said you have a hard time keeping ferns where you live. By chance, were previous ferns placed in direct sun? If they were, that could be the reason fronds browned. Ferns do best when placed in a semi-shady to bright light spot. Anyway, if you have a pic can you post? Toni
PS..Good luck, I hope it works.

Browning fronds on leaf tips and fronds of ferns and other tropicals when grown indoors is usually only partly related to soil issues. Important also is maintaining a decent relative humidity level in the air. Supplying ample moisture at the roots but sub-adequate humidity will result in a high rate of transpiration of moisture through the plant and stress it. Leaf browning may continue even with the crystals but in any case I believe they work best when well mixed into the soil rather than in distinct zones of moisture which, to me anyway, appear to have the potential to kill off any roots immediately adjacent to the moisture sinks caused by the gel crystals.

H

Ferns are weird. I have some unidentified footed fern that can go for around a month without me watering it and be fine, and I have a Blechnum gibbum that, unlike most houseplants... well, you can't let the soil dry down, at all, for any period of time, or it will collapse.

I'm not sure what sort of relative humidity a boston fern would need. My aspleniums and platycerium do okay with anything about like, 20%, and the no-ID footed fern, like water, doesn't seem to really care either way. On the other hand, the B. Gibbum probably needs around 60% to do well.

Leaf browning seems to me like mostly a case of low humidity, more than anything, especially if it's really pervasive and not just the tips. I'm not sure WHAT a boston fern needs, but you might want to get a cheap humidifier from Walmart or something.

By the way, is it okay to set a plant directly on TOP of the humidified? What that mean it has more relative humidity around it, relative to the rest of the room?

Change of the ferns light/humidity from a nursery (where it had great conditions) will cause your boston fern to revolt and molt with browning and shedding, at the same time though, you should be seeing new growth (thinner/smaller) that can take it's new environment and grow new fronds accordingly.

All you have to do is keep it in bright indirect/dapple and keep the plant snug to the root-ball and also keep the soil on the moist side. I water mine once a week. The fern will go through an "ugly stage" for a while, but with the right care, it should come back beautiful! No crystals needed!

Misting does not help as you have experienced, constant humidity though never hurt, so putting something like a table top fountain under, or near it can help.

With bostons, you are always going to have "some" browning indoors, but it should be minimal, if at all after it has replaced all of it's fronds.

Billy Rae

Here's a pic of the fern. I've removed the brown fronds. Some of them still have brown tips but you can't make it out in the pic. The crystals should last me atleast for a month before having to water them again. The crystals website says that I can use this in addition to soil or even as a soil substitute.

The gels are not really watery - they are moist. If I squeeze them, they do not leak water but rather break into smaller pieces. So, I'm hoping that the fern has a moist but not soggy environment to grow in.

Hemant

Here is a link that might be useful: Fern on crystals

"Misting does not help as you have experienced, constant humidity though never hurt, so putting something like a table top fountain under, or near it can help. "

You know, maybe running a general room-wide humidifier with a small table-top fountain NEXT to the fern would work even better?

Hemant,

It could just be the lighting, but are the fronds on your boston a yellowish color? Other then that, it looks good!

I posted the two of mine a while back to show that they can do very well without any extra help.

The first fern is in a 6" plastic pot, the second one is in a I think, an 11" pot, actually, it's in a big fat white heavy ceramic vase from Target that I had a hole drilled in the bottom for drainage.

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Hi amccour,

Oh yeah, I agree, any extra humidity that can be provided is good in a really dry environment, the fern would love it! The more the better!
Here though, if anyone has been afraid of trying this fern, they shouldn't be!
No need to do anything special! No table top, or humidifier is necessary, just let them lose the old leaves and make a big mess, (and it will) while the new ones come in, an ugly duckling to a swan I like to say, lol.

Billy Rae

Billy, the leaves are not really yellow, more like a neon green. Dunno why they are that way. I'm hoping that the epsom salts in the crystals turn them green. I'm not able to see your pics.

Is anybody else able to see them?

Hem, your leaves ARE yellow..Wow, you have what's called Boston Fern, 'Golden Beauty!'
I found one on Ebay a few yrs ago but my birds ate part, then it died..Yours is doing fine, it looks very healthy. With ferns, their bound to brown occassionaly, the goal is to resolve the problem. Humidity or soil kept too dry. Of course it depends on the fern..Some ferns need to dry a little between waterings, others need to be kept moderately moist.

Sorry Billy, I have to disagree about misting..lol..I truly believe misting helps, but if a home is so dry (in winter) your hair is standing on end, looks like the Bride of Frankinstien, lol, misting isn't going to help entirely. That's when a humidifer comes in handy. Ironically, last night I went to CVS. They had summer stuff on sale. I ended up buying a gadget that sprays water by battery. lol. I'm going to use on plants, see if it works. It's meant for ppl. There's a picture of a woman holding this battery-operated thingy, spraying her face. lol.
Billy, (By the way, I bought a new H.multiflora..oh boy, it's huge, came with a little U-trellis. I'm planning on getting a variegated and white edged mulitflora, too.
Billy your Boston is humongous! And gorgeous..I love the way you've remodeled that room. Looks so cozy. And you figured a way to hang curtains and still get sun. BTW, what is the plant (hanging) next to the Boston? Think I asked before.

Did someone ask if placing a plant on a humidifier helps? NO..on the contrary. The plant will die. I once tried that with a begonia. It was on top of the humidifer about 15 mins..an hour or so later all the leaves wilted, turned gray. A plant should never be placed before an air or heat source..I'm not talking about an open window. Fresh air is great.

Amccour, do you have a photo of your Blechnum? If so, can you post please?

Hem, thanks for posting. The gel resembles and sounds like the stuff my Plumosis was potted in, only deep red. Didn't you say your gel was red? It looks transparent..lol..perhaps I misread your thread. There's another fern in the Boston family called Boston Tiger. It too is nice. After seeing your fern, I now want both Golden and Tiger..lol. Good luck, Toni

"Amccour, do you have a photo of your Blechnum? If so, can you post please?"

I can get some. I was planning on it anyway. I'll start a new topic on the subject tonight-ish.

"A plant should never be placed before an air or heat source..I'm not talking about an open window. Fresh air is great."

That was me, and ah, okay. Now I have a follow-up question! It sounds like your humidifier was putting out warm air/mist. I'm wondering if a cool air/mist output humidifier might be different. I'm kinda doubting it, but I AM wondering what the particular 'science' is here.

Also, if you mean in the first pic, that looks like a platycerium hanging next to billy's boston fern.

hem's fern looks good too!

Sorry Toni, I have to disagree about misting plants, lol. Do you think my ferns NEED misting? I don't worry about a little tip browning, and that's mostly in the winter months.
Now is the time when widows/doors are open, there is no reason for extra humidity now anyway.
The variegated multiflora sounds "really" nice! Out of the two stems you sent, only one made it, growing a new side shoot of new leaves:O)