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Fern looking sad
Johnsonsyard
Posts: 22
my potted fern is looking decidedly sad and unhealthy. What can I do about it? It's turning yellow in colour and some brown on.
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Posts
Could be thirsty, or too wet or been in its pot too long and run out of food so is starving.
Thanks it's been that pot for a while . Don't want to lose it . Do Ferns like a particular soil and advice on feeding would be good . Much appreciated .
Any compost in pots will have only enough nutrients for about 90 days so you need to think about giving an annual top dressing of a suitable fertiliser such as pelleted chicken manure or seaweed granules and occasional liquid feeds of something designed for leafy plants.
If yours has been in that pot for a few years it is probably ready for potting on so water it thoroughly to make it easier to remove and then give it some fresh compost in a bigger pot or else use your hands or a hand fork to loosen the root ball, trim off the ends and then re-pot in a cleaned pot. I would suggest a mix of half and half JOhn Innes no 3 and muti-purpose compost and a thorough watering afterwards.
The RHS offers this advice on growing ferns - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=936
Thanks so much . I like using pots a lot so it's a great all round answer . Mick appreciated.
Fair enough. Be sure to tailor the compost you use to the plant you're growing as some like it free draining and some moisture retentive and make sure you use rain water on ericaceous plants if your tap water is hard. Use the appropriate feed in spring - depends on the plant and is different for foliage, flowers, fruits and seeds,