Very sad birds nest fern

10 years ago

I have a birds nest fern that was all moldy at the roots when I got it. I removed the mold and repotted it into a cactus mix since I thought that would be well draining. I cannot seem to save it and it looks worse and worse daily. Any suggestions?

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Comments (6)

ronalawn82
10 years ago
catash701
here is some help.
catash701
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks, I'll try putting some bark in the mix
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I have a fern which I feel must be the kind you inquire about. My friend, who gave it to me several years ago when it was about to die, called it an alligator birdnest fern. Today I was checking to try to identify it more exactly, and your post came up. Is this what you refer to? and it seems to me that it does multiply by clumping, because I am about to have a local nurseryman separate and repot it for me. I do not want to chance losing it now. Actually, the long fronds are greater than 2 feet long. And while we are on the subject, I found a different style birdnest fern at the nursery I spoke of, sort of a clubfoot version, different from my other wavy edged and straight edged bird nest ferns. I am quite fond of these plants, and give them a place of respect in the limited shade of my garden. Hope this helps.
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
10 years ago
The "mold" wasn't root mealybug, was it?

The bark needs to be the right size, and in order to get to the point where the bark really starts doing you some good, the bark should comprise at least 75% of the total soil volume. I'll leave a link that you might find interesting. If you find value in it, and want to learn more, I can link you to something that explains how water behaves in container soils. It will give you a better understanding of how important your soil choice is to your ability to coax plants into growing as near their genetic potential as possible, and probably represents the largest step forward a container gardener can take at any one time.

Al

Here is a link that might be useful: Start with me, though .....
catash701
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks! I'm pretty sure it was mold. I combines the bark so it's roots are kind of exposed and have been misting them daily. It's looking really bad :-(
catash701
Original Author
10 years ago
That was a great article !
Laurel Zito
9 years ago
Al, I planted my fern as a house plant, and I did not know what to do. I just used what I had around, so I used coir instead of peat moss then I added some perlite, some bark 1/4 that I had around, and some truface 1/4 and some bonsai gravel 1/4 that I had around. I don't know if I did right or not, but it was supposed to like wet soil and also for the OP, note you can treat a fern with a fungicide if the ferns is not too far gone already. I have seen some ferns growing around my building that have black smut, it's like a black mold and I told the owners, but I doubt they will bother to treat those ferns. Ferns do get fungus and aphids also. They had these tiny white spots, people think ferns are care free, but they are much harder then they look.

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Very sad birds nest fern

Comments (6)

ronalawn82

catash701
Original Author

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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

catash701
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catash701
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Laurel Zito

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Very sad birds nest fern

Comments (6)

ronalawn82

catash701Original Author

Related Discussions

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

catash701Original Author

catash701Original Author

Laurel Zito

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

catash701
Original Author

catash701
Original Author

catash701
Original Author