Houseplants are tricky. They either flourish or flatline. That’s been my experience at least. But perhaps more frustrating is when they lie in limbo- no new growth, no new foliage.
Such was the case with a Maidenhair Fern I purchased at Smith & Hawken several years ago. It was more or less at a standstill and getting ‘leggy’ as time passed. I noticed several baby fronds pushing their way out of the soil, but they never matured. I decided I would try some radical pruning and see where that took us.
My thought process began with sizing up the plant. It was healthy, but not growing. It was as though it had gone into a permanent state of dormancy. It was tall, sparse, and new fronds emerged from the soil but withered away soon after. This led me to believe that the old growth was using all the plant energy and preventing the new growth from maturing.
Drastic pruning stresses a plant, but spring is right around corner and it’s the absolute best time of the year to prune a houseplant– just before the start of the growing season.
Emotionally, I’m to the point where I’m willing to lose the plant if it doesn’t survive the big haircut. I’m optimistic that it will prevail. After all, those new little fronds tell me that it is intent on growing.
So here’s my plan: I’m going to cut off all the stems at the base, be diligent about keeping the soil moist and raise the humidity around the fern to encourage new growth. Follow the progress below.
Jan. 19, 2011. After removing the old growth, tiny fronds are revealed.
February 11, 2011. The momentum continues and new fronds are still emerging. Adding a bit fertilizer today.
March 18, 2011. The fertilizer has helped tremendously. It looks better than ever.
New growth continues to emerge.
I’m happy to report that this experiment has proved successful. It’s officially spring now and the fern seems quite content with the situation. It continues to grow and become full with healthy fronds. I’ll report back on our progress near summer.