The Fern Comeback I Wasn’t Expecting

When we moved into our current home, a struggling fern came with the place.

It was sitting in direct light and looked like it was barely hanging on. At the time, I was still new to gardening, but I wanted to try to save it. I knew ferns could be a little fussy because I had already killed two before, so I was not exactly confident.

I started by trimming away the fronds that were dried out and dead. Once I got a better look in the pot, it seemed rootbound, so I decided to take it out and see what was going on.

I loosened the roots and cut off rotted areas. I didn't want to risk putting it in a bigger pot and having it get waterlogged, so I decided to trim 10–20% of the roots and put it back in its original pot. As I was poking around, I found a bunch of little grape-sized balls at the bottom. After a quick internet search, I learned they were tubers!

Tubers grow on the root system as the plant’s way of storing water and nutrients.

This plant was overflowing with tubers, so I decided to set some aside to see if I could grow more ferns.

A year later, the original fern is now healthy and thriving, and the tubers grew into new plants. What started as an attempt to save one sad plant turned into one of the best propagation surprises!

What I love most is that this fern turned out to be more resilient than I had expected. Even while being neglected, it made it through 50-degree winters and 90-degree summers and still kept growing. Considering how intimidated I used to be by ferns, that feels like a small win.

If you have a fern that looks rough, do not be too quick to toss it. Sometimes there is a healthy plant hiding under all that damage. It just needs the right conditions to thrive.

What I learned

If you're curious about reviving your own plant, here are a few things that helped:

• Trim away fully dead growth first so the plant can redirect energy to growing healthy foliage.

• Make sure the pot size is not too large or too small. Too large, and you risk it getting waterlogged. Too small, and it won't have room to grow.

• Look for tubers near the root system if your fern variety produces them. Some don't grow them.

• Use a pot and soil that have good drainage.

• Keep most plants, in bright, indirect light or shade rather than direct sun, especially while they are recuperating.

• Be patient, because recovery can take time.