Hi there! I hope this isn't a duplicate question. I have searched the forums and haven't found an answer for my fern problem. I got a kangaroo paw fern less than 6 months ago from Lowe's. It was doing great for a while. Now it has started yellowing mature leaves (mostly interior leaves from the middle of the plant). Photos attached to show the yellowing pattern. Also some other leaves are getting crispy brown tips, but not all. Still other baby leaves that are still unfurling are going limp and dying before maturity. Maybe the problem is coming from the roots in the center of the plant. They have an off-white dry coating that flakes off and crumbles under the scrape of my fingernail. They do not match the dark green legs with red hairs that are on the outside areas of the plant. Should I scrape this dry stuff off? Is it from too much water? Poor circulation?

Overall it is a good looking plant. I just want to get out in front of anything.. It's so beautiful, I hate to lose it.

Here are the current conditions...

Light:

It lives against an east facing wall (my front porch), but not directly in front of a window. It gets low light from north and south windows that are over 10 ft away. Photos show the fern (behind gold settee) in the broader atmosphere.

Water:

I keep it well watered but do not have a record of exact times and volumes. I usually give it a cup or so every 2 or 3 days, and sometimes drench it deeply and let it drain in the kitchen sink (like an epiphytic orchid). I usually water it every other day or every three days, but was out of town for about 3 weeks, so my neighbor took care of all of my plants. My birds nest fern, hoyas, Rex begonia, spider plant, heart vine, night blooming cereus, prayer plant, etc all look great, so I know she did not neglect my plants. But I don't know exactly how she watered them.

Temp / Humidity:

I keep my house 76-78 degrees in summer (that may sound hot to some, but I'm a Texan living in Tennessee), and I have two overhead fans on low that keep the room from getting stale. It often feels rather humid in here (probably because of the dozen plants). Side note: in winter, I usually keep it at 69 - is that too cold for this fern?

Soil medium / Container

It is still in the plastic pot it came in, because I read that epiphytes don't like repotting and thrive with confined roots. Is this correct? Do I need to give it a bigger pot, change the soil medium, or put it in a pot with holes for circulation?

Am I missing something? I've read and heard that kangaroo paw is one of the easiest ferns to take care of - so maybe I am giving it too much attention. Help!

Thank you so much, GardenWeb community!