Hi! I am somewhat of a newbie at houseplants and I think I might have killed my blue star fern. I've only had it for about a year. It did great the first six months but then it started shedding leaves. Now, it has lost all but a small handful of sad little leaves. After doing some googling, I'm pretty sure I didn't water it properly and now have crown rot. Most of the fuzzy orange rhizomes crumbled under my touch. It does seem there might still be one or two that aren't rotten (the ones that the leaves are currently popping out of), though it's obviously in bad shape. Is there any coming back from this, or should I cut my losses and try again with a new plant?
Help! Blue Star Fern Crown Rot
- Thread starter feralmoonbeam
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Greetings, welcome to the Forums.
I would consider doing both options.
First re-pot your current fern. While doing so cut away all clearly rotted rhizome. What you are left with will be a smaller fern so re-pot it in a smaller pot. Use fast draining mix. Fine orchid bark or sphagnum moss is often preferred, but a very coarse , gritty sand mix could also work. Going forward let the potting medium mostly dry between each watering. You may be able to judge this best by weight.
Of course, it may take a while for your fern to return to its former glory, so by all means get another one as well. Either the same species, or something else you like that takes similar care.
Blue-star Fern is a name used for either of two closely related ferns and possible hybrids between them. Both Phlebodium aureum and Phlebodium pseudoaureum, (formerly in the genus Polypodium), also known as Hare's-foot Fern or Golden Polypod, are rhizomatous epiphytic ferns in the Polypody Family (Polypodiaceae). They are native to the southeastern United States, Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and tropical South America.
I would consider doing both options.
First re-pot your current fern. While doing so cut away all clearly rotted rhizome. What you are left with will be a smaller fern so re-pot it in a smaller pot. Use fast draining mix. Fine orchid bark or sphagnum moss is often preferred, but a very coarse , gritty sand mix could also work. Going forward let the potting medium mostly dry between each watering. You may be able to judge this best by weight.
Of course, it may take a while for your fern to return to its former glory, so by all means get another one as well. Either the same species, or something else you like that takes similar care.
Blue-star Fern is a name used for either of two closely related ferns and possible hybrids between them. Both Phlebodium aureum and Phlebodium pseudoaureum, (formerly in the genus Polypodium), also known as Hare's-foot Fern or Golden Polypod, are rhizomatous epiphytic ferns in the Polypody Family (Polypodiaceae). They are native to the southeastern United States, Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and tropical South America.
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