Houseplants - Ferns
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  (March) I have a potted fern that is turning brown and dropping leaves. I brought it inside last fall when the weather began turning cold and kept it in the kitchen in the sink or on the clothes dryer. I began setting it outside recently when the days were sunny and warm. What can I do to keep it from dying?

  Ferns often struggle indoors with the lack of humidity. Winter heat is quite drying. It is not that long before the plant can be moved outdoors permanently for the growing season, so you may just want to struggle on and get it to survive. Another option, if it is not a large plant you may want to just give it a haircut almost to the pot, water, and lightly fertilize. Put it in a cool, bright location indoors and in a few weeks you can move it outdoors permanently. Use caution on "airing" houseplants. Direct sunlight after being indoors all winter can give them a case of sunburn, and they don't turn red to show it.

  I am overwintering some ferns in my garage. How often should they be watered? The leaves are already to begin to look peaked. Should I cut them back to the pot now and will they come out of it in the spring?

  Leave the foliage on the plants for extra protection. Even though they shouldn’t freeze in your garage, it will get pretty cool. The foliage can help to protect the root system. Water sparingly about once a month, to make sure that the soil doesn’t dry out completely. In March, cut back the damaged leaves, begin to increase your watering, and give them light applications of fertilizer. By early April, they should be ready to move outside.

  Last summer I had four beautiful ferns. I moved them to the porch as the winter started, and right now they look pretty sad. Should I cut them back? What should I do? They have mostly turned brown. Do you think there is any hope for them now? 

  I think I should start a campaign for hardy perennial ferns. We have so many varieties that do well in Arkansas, and you don’t have to deal with the plant indoors for the winter. Think about them as an option for this growing season--and yes, you can grow them in containers. As to your sad looking plants, they will probably bounce back once outside. Cut back all the dead fronds, and if that is the whole plant, chop it off. Start watering with a mild fertilizer and with warmth and humidity they will begin to grow again.

  Enclosed are some cuttings from my staghorn fern. The plant is several years old. Last spring, before putting it outside to hang in a shade tree, I noticed this rust on some of the fronds. I scratched it off and sprayed with an insecticide, and I didn’t see any more during the summer. Not that it is back inside, the plant has rust again. I don’t want to lose the plant. I hope you can tell me what to do for it. (Hot Springs)

  There is nothing wrong with your plant, in fact it is something right. The plant is trying to reproduce. Ferns don’t bloom and set seeds like other plants, they produce spores on the back sides of the fronds. On some varieties, they will produce individual patterns of spores on the back of the fronds, which many people mistake for scale insects. Yours simply has a mass of spores. It won’t hurt the plant at all, and you can try your hand at propagating some. Let the spores mature, then scrape them

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