How To Revive A Dying Fern Before It’s Too Late

In addition to Hollywood’s stereotypical picture of lush, graceful ferns lining a Southern porch, there’s a horticultural reason you see the ferns everywhere. The hot, humid weather of Southern summers and the dappled shade of a porch are the ideal climate for these plants. However, unrelenting heat, improper watering, pests, and diseases can eventually take a toll on ferns. Here’s how to revive wilted or dying ferns.

Signs Your Fern Is In Trouble

If your porch fern is not thriving, it is usually due to over- or underwatering, pests, or fungal disease. Here’s a guide to help you assess the problem.

• Yellow or Wilting Fronds: Overwatering or placement in a container with poor drainage leaves the fern in soggy soil that can suffocate roots, causing the fronds to turn yellow or wilt.
• Brown, Drooping, or Crispy Fronds: Underwatering or too much direct sun will leave the fern suffering with brown, crispy, or drooping fronds.
• Dark or Powdery Patches on Fronds: Dark spots, black or brown lesions, or white, powdery patches on the fronds are indicators of bacterial or fungal infestations. Bacterial soft rot in the soil will have a foul odor.
• Sticky or Bumpy Fronds: If fronds feel sticky, that’s honeydew left behind by sap-sucking pests like aphids. You may also discover small bumps on the stems caused by scale or fine webbing left behind by spider mites. If the infestation is large enough, fronds can turn yellow, wilt, and die.
• Brown Tips on Fronds: Overfertilization can cause the tips of fronds to look burned or turn brown.

How To Revive A Porch Fern

Once you have assessed the possible problem with your fern, it’s time to take corrective action.

Revive An Overwatered Fern

If the roots of a fern are left in soggy soil long enough to cause the fronds to wilt, the best action is to remove the fern from the container. Gently slide the fern from the container and check the roots. Healthy roots are white and firm, while rotted roots are brown, slimy, and mushy.

Remove as much of the soggy soil as possible by rinsing the root ball with a gentle stream of water. Trim away any rotting roots. Repot the fern in fresh potting soil and place it in a container with good drainage holes. Water until the soil is just damp, and wait until the soil has dried out about 1 inch deep before watering again.

Revive An Underwatered Fern

If the soil has been allowed to dry out, remove the fern from the container and immerse the root ball in a bucket of water. Let it sit in the water for an hour. Drain the root ball well and trim away any droopy or dead fronds. Repot the fern in fresh soil in a well-draining container. Place the fern in an area away from direct sunlight and mist daily to increase humidity levels.

Treat A Fern With Bacterial or Fungal Disease

It is very difficult to save a fern that is infected with bacterial blight. To prevent the spread of disease, ferns with Pseudomonas cichorii or P. gladioli bacteria should be discarded.Fungal infections in ferns, Rhizoctonia solani or Pythium, can be treated with a fungicide and replanted in a pathogen-free, pasteurized potting mix.

Get Rid Of Pests

Use a medium-strength spray of water or wash pests off the fern fronds. Move the fern away from direct sunlight and use an insecticidal soap or neem oil spray on both sides of the fronds. Keep the fern well-hydrated and repeat the treatment if pests reappear.

Correct Frond Tip Burn

Water the fern deeply to help leach out the excess fertilizer. Be sure the water is draining well. Trim away affected fronds. To prevent future burning, use a liquid fertilizer no more than once a month during the spring and summer at half the dilution rate listed on the label.