Ferns

Help - I have a "black thumb". I kill every house plant, every bush, every shrub....I'm a terrible plant husbandry person.

John and I rescued (I use the term very very lightly) a couple hanging ferns from Frank's on Preston highway...they'd already been subjected to low temps outside for a few nights....lots of brown foliage underneath, which we've pruned.

We have them hanging in front of a sort of low-light window. If I remember from my grandma's fern lore, they need humidity, and spritzing if there isn't any. I don't think they are poisonous to cats......anything else I need to know? Low water requirement? High?

Marsha,Marsha,Marsha....OK first things first. Cut them really far back, dont worry about going to far. If you can place a florescent light over them it will help quite a bit. As already noted lots of humidity.If your place has forced air for heat its going to be a challenge. Spritzer bottle,place them on a tray of moist stones and water them in the shower when you can. When you do water soak them until it runs out the bottom, then let them go moderately dry between times. Dont worry about fertilizig until after the new year. They should not present a problem to the kitties as long as nobody used a systemic insecticde on them, that may remain in the plant for months. If the ferns dont work let me know I have couple of house plants that nobody can kill.

Marsha - I'm in the same boat. If I bring something home, you can hear what greenery is left whisper "Dead plant walking". Hostas and stonecrop are the only things that I seem to be able to grow - I even killed mint.



MissChele

I even killed mint.

Thats hardcore....

My grandmother had a fern that she claimed was handed down from her mother - it was supposedly over 100 years old when she died. I think she took up all our family horticultural mojo. That fern died a couple months after she did

I did kill a hosta once, too.

Actually, my John is able to keep plants alive in his windowless cubilcle at work - I guess it's just me that's the plant-killer.

Poor ferns. Wish me luck. John H, thanks for the advice - I may be calling on you again when they get crunchy (although I HAVE learned that that's pretty late in the game for an intervention).

I even killed mint.

Thats hardcore....

You are right!

Hey- you are the tomato guy, right? I would like to try my hand at something easy so my daughter doesn't think all plants are brown. Do you think I could grow an heirloom tomato (or some other) plant?

Yeah, Im the tomato guy.....if you want to try something easy with your kid this time of year try a kitchen scrap garden. An avocado is an easy plant. Take a clean pit, poke a few toothpicks in it over a glass of water and keep the bottom of the pit moist. In a couple of weeks you should see a sprout coming up and roots growing down into the glass. Same can be done with a old small sweet potato, this will make a cool vine that will cruise around the window. Another idea is a carrot garden. Take a small tray filled with cool stones and pebbles. Then stick carrot tops down into the rocks. Water,keep moist and you will end up with a funky little rock garden. Hit me up in the spring and I can set you up with plants for a cool kids garden.

That sounds great!! I am going to try that carrot - rock garden thing...


MissChele

This is the ferns posting. Help us. We are green and also brown. The cats chew us. The humans don't seem to care.

Marsha, it seems you need to feed the cats more often.....

This is the ferns posting. Help us. We are green and also brown. The cats chew us. The humans don't seem to care.

That may be the funniest thing I've read all night!

Well, crap. The ferns are getting their revenge. I'll admit to being quite arachnaphobic, and twice this morning while on the computer, teensy, weensy spiders dropped down in front of me - the only reason I saw them I'm sure is because they were silhouetted against the brightly lit computer monitor.

Help! My ferns have spiders!