I would guess your fern to be Phlebodium aureum. As for why there aren't many fronds....I don't have an answer to that, but I'll say that my own Phlebodiums seem to do about the same thing. I'd guess that it's simply due to the fact that the plants are restricted within a pot and that perhaps their new growth is normally at terminal points, and that those terminal points don't grow new fronds without roots (example the portions that protrude from the pots). I've read that shedding of old fronds is perfectly normal....but it's stated that 'they are quickly replaced with new fronds in spring'. Maybe you can do more research if you discover that it is Phlebodium aureum....sorry I wasn't much help!

Howdy, HMC. About Ebay, sellers can no longer leave Negative feedback for a buyer. I think that's wrong, 'I've never sold anything on Ebay, only bought.' It doesn't sound fair. Say a buyers buys an item, clicks the proper buttoms, but doesn't pay. In the meantime, the seller removed the item from Ebay. Well, that's that. To top it off the seller can't leave Neg feedback? I don't understand. I believe I'm still a paid member on Dave's, but I paid some time ago. Maybe a year or more. They never sent a letter saying it expired unless the email went to Spam. LOL, no, the Citrus ban takes place in Fl, not IL..lol. Fl cannot ship citrus anywhere out of state. IL doesn't export citrus. lol. Funny you should mentioned the fern. I have a Rabbit's Foot Fern. A couple wks back, I bought one called, Giant Davillia/Rabbits Foot Fern, don't know if there's a difference. I have a 19-yr-old fern that resembles leather. I don't know its Botanical name. Wonder if that's the plant you mean. BTW, I took your advice and bought Irene Nuss and Grey Feather. lol..'no more plants, right!' lol What are the two plants you posted? They're lovely. Very pretty. This is an older pic of the fern, and it's next to two others, maybe you can make heads, and let me know if this is the fern you mean. Hey WoeBegonia. Shux..I got antsy, so sowed the luxurian seeds..ended up setting them in small Peat Pellets. They're inside a plastic bag, but the end is open for ventilation. So far, nothing. I should have waited till spring to sow. The house has been cold, and with a zillion other things to do, I didn't look for the heating mat. So far I brought two plants in, now, only 300 more..lol. The ants are gone, for now..but what's been happening is, they return in spring/summer. The only thing I can figure out is they lay eggs in plant pots, then hatch when the weather warms. How in the world can people want ant farms? Sheesh. lol Are the fires out? I hope so..sounds terrible, and had to be..Hope nobody got hurt. Funny, Jerry Baker was the second author 'James Underwood Crockett, from Victory Garden's being the first,' I learned about basic plants. This was longgg ago. Late 70's, early 80's. He's got some weird ideas..using urine for plants, lol. Can you imagine. Friend: you're plants are gorgeous, what do you use to make them so healthy-looking. Me: Oh, urine. Just feel the texture. lolol Back to luxurians..I don't know how moist to keep the pellets. Too wet they rot, too dry seeds die. What a pain. I also sowed Bottle Palm seeds, but they can take a year to germinate, if they germinate. We're supposed to get several days of rain. I'm worried about succulents. Don't want to lose any. Friday and Saturday, I spent the day cleaning windows and areas plants will be wintered. A lot of work. If it wasn't raining, I'd bring in baby Euphorbias..hope it stops some time today..these grey days are driving me up the wall. Oh, H, you asked if I'd like to be outside at 49F degress, w/o a coat, etc. I wouldn't like to be outside at 60F degrees w/o a coat. lol. I'm always cold. Actually, plants are doing great outside..it's after coming in I'm worried about. Dry, stuffy air, less light, etc. Funny, some days/nights I think, my poor plants are probably cold outside, lol. Some more than others. Certain plants need a certain amount of cold to produce winter blooms, and it hasn't been under 32F. Thank God!!!

Can you post a picture of it ? For propagation, your two options are grow from spore, or root division. I regularly do root division on various ferns (but not tree ferns) and never lost one yet. However please take advice from someone who grows this species before taking the knife to your precious fern ! Growing from spore can take a long time, but is very rewarding if you have the patience for it. Most types of fern like moisture, so if you have a propagator then that helps, but you could also use a plastic box with a transparent lid.

Generally, ferns can be propagated best by dividing the crown prior to active growth in the spring. As it is, the fern will pretty much separate itself for you along an old growth/new growth line, then you simply peel the crown in half. (If this is an outdoor fern, you'll be dividing when the weather is still cold, so you'll want to protect the new divisions). Josh