Caring for maidenhair fern

Question

I have a beautiful adiantum, and as usual when I try to keep one, some of the leaves are begininng to go brown and dry. I try to keep the soil at the right level of moistness, and I mist it frequently, so what am I doing wrong? Also if I cut off the stems with the drying leaves will that harm the plant even more? .

Answer 1

We had one at our last address (New Forest) and we thought it had died so we threw the compost onto the garden. Next year lo and behold maidenhair fern in the garden. We moved a couple of years ago , it was still going strong then.

Answer 2

Keep moist,like being in a rain forrest and don't put in direct sunlight!

I have cut off stems with brown leaves and it was OK.

I also used to put outside in a summer shower

Answer 3

If it's a new plant it could have been shocked from having been moved from perfect conditions of temperature, humidity etc in a nursery then on to a retailer and lastly to your home. Ideally adiantum would get warmth, indirect light and lots of humidity. You can help increase the humidity around it by standing its pot on pebbles with water below - the water will then evaporate around it. You could put it in a shower regularly too, or outside in a rain shower.

It's fine to cut off dead leaves, as this prevents decaying matter from spreading fungus or other infections. I'd give it a weak feed now with a dilute plant fertiliser which will encourage new shoots to develop, and once a month during the growing season.

Overall, keep it from drying harsh sunlight, raise the humidity around it - it's fine to mist as you have been doing, and your TLC will pay off.  Don't rush to throw it away, maybe give it a new position somewhere like the bathroom or kitchen if they have indirect filtered light, as they could be more humid.

Hope this helps. Good luck! Rob