I'm debating at this point whether to simply give up on Maidenhairs and try another ...

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i always think of ferns as forest floor plants ... [it doesnt matter if that is precisely correct .... its the conclusion i came to...] .....

and i came to believe.. no matter what i did in the house.. i wasnt going to replicate their native habitat to the point of them prospering with vigor in my forced air furnace house ...

so i just gave up on all of them ... there are too many easy houseplant ... and lifes to short.. to keep banging your head and pocketbook on the wall ...

but that said.. if its more of a challenge thing and it makes you happy .... then go for it ... and try whatever plant anyone else suggests ....

but im also curious how many other peeps have just quit them all ...

ken

The answer to question #1 - that's nonsense!! No plant prefers to be rootbound and ferns expand just like other plants do. One type of maidenhair is expressly grown for its spreading, groundcover habit.

Question #2 - Adiantum species produce new fronds in the same manner as do other ferns, The fiddleheads or emerging shoots are just scaled down to the size of the fern.

I grow a couple of types of maidenhair ferns but they are hardy outdoors types. IME, maidenhairs grown indoors are almost impossible to keep happy.

Rabbit's foot fern, Davillia spp, is a far easier houseplant fern to grow yet still offers that lacy, delicate appearance of the maidenhair. And produces appealing fuzzy rhizomes that gives this fern its common name.

Thanks GG. OK, maybe time for me to give up on trying to have Maidenhair as an indoor plant ;-( Rabbit's foot looks good...nothing like maidenhair fronds but still...lacy enough I suppose...

Update: so while I was all ready to give up on my current Maidenhair (and on all Maidenhairs for the foreseeable future) I very recently noted a promising development: for my first time ever, I am seeing new green growth (teeny fiddleheads) coming up from the soil...

So...what have I done differently over these past few weeks? Well, I've been misting the plant multiple times per day. I'm also spraying directly onto the soil, to help create an overall moist environment, whereby the water from the top of the soil evaporates up onto the plant leaves. Also, I've been running a hot shower for a few minutes, then turning it off, and then putting the plant on my shower floor with the door closed, to help keep in the humidity. I keep the plant in the now-damp bathroom for about 10 minutes. And after my daily showers, again, I keep the plant in the bathroom for a bit, to enjoy some of that warm damp air.

So...clearly this seems to be making the difference...that I'm more focused on trying to replicate a warm, tropical, damp environment as much as possible. Aside from that, I was thinking maybe I should get some rocks to also keep on TOP of the soil....and then wet the rocks a few times per day...that the moisture evaporating from the rocks could also help? ...and/or what about adding some spagnum moss or similar to the top of the soil, and wetting that a few times per day?

I know that running a humidifier could also help, but I'm not willing to go that route (buy a humidifier)...

Thanks all!

I grow all my ferns in wicking pots. I live in a very dry climate and it's nearly impossible to retain any sort of ambient humidity above about 35% in my home. In my experience, consistent soil moisture seems to be more important. There are a couple of pictures of my wicking pots in this thread.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/6202890/anyone-expert-on-growing-maidenhair-fern-indoors

Thanks...yes, now I remember seeing your wicking pot post from before...thing is though, I'm sorta picky about the appearance of my plants and the pots they are in. I really do love my terra cotta planter with patches of green (mossy looking) all over it and not sure I want to stick the planter inside another one.

Another thing I think I figured out is that...while previously I kept my plant under a glass cloche (to try and create a damp terrarium type environment) I guess the cloche will only help if you ALREADY have damp environment created, which the cloche then helps to hold in. But I realized that, while I was using a cloche before, I apparently didn't quite understand that I needed to be misting the plant more often.

Now, even without the cloche (which I decided to give up/give away a month or so ago), the plant is doing much better (i.e., with evidence of brand new growth/fiddleheads...something I NEVER succeeded in seeing before), and I can only surmise it's because I am now much more vigilant about creating and maintaining a moist environment by way of misting the overall plant multiple times per day, misting the top of the soil directly, and letting the plant sit inside my bathroom shower at least 2X per day, and after I've run some hot water to help create steam. Then I close the bathroom door and let the plant sit in the now-steamy bathroom for a bit.

;-)