Fern fronds turning brown? Dry air and tap water are the usual pair.
Ferns have thin fronds and fine roots and they forgive very little. They are among the houseplants most sensitive to what is dissolved in their water, and to fertilizer salts.
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Is it your water?
Frond tips brown while the soil has stayed evenly moist.
It browns even in a bathroom or with a humidifier nearby.
You water from a city tap or a softened line.
Two of three and the water is worth changing:
What each symptom means
Whole fronds going crisp and brown mean the soil dried out, even once.
Brown tips on otherwise green fronds mean dry air or chlorine, fluoride and salts in the water.
A bird's nest fern browning from the center means water is sitting in the crown; water the soil around it instead.
Yellowing fronds mean overwatering or too much light.
A maidenhair that collapses completely can regrow from the roots if you cut it back and keep it moist.
For ferns the water is a real and common cause. Tip browning in a humid room with moist soil points straight at it.
Watering Can With Filter and Remineralizer for House Plants
Filters chlorine, chloramine, fluoride and lead as you pour, then adds back 20+ minerals
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plus sales tax where applicable
Less than a season of distilled water jugs, and nothing to carry.
Three steps to green fronds
Keep the soil evenly moist and never let it dry right out.
Switch to filtered water tonight and flush the pot once.
Feed at quarter strength at most; ferns burn easily.
Watering Can With Filter and Remineralizer for House Plants
Filters chlorine, chloramine, fluoride and lead as you pour, then adds back 20+ minerals
$69 · Free shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
plus sales tax where applicable
Less than a season of distilled water jugs, and nothing to carry.
When it is not the water
If the pot dried out completely, that is the cause. Trim the dead fronds and keep it moist; new ones follow.
The Tap Water Plant Guide
Which 12 houseplants react to tap water, how to tell water damage from overwatering, and four ways to fix it — including the free ones.
Frequently asked questions.
Better water, tonight's watering.
- $69 · Free shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
- Free shipping
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Replaceable filter packs