Killed my fern by loving it too hard with a watering can

I bought this big Boston fern from a nursery near my house in Austin about 6 months ago, and it was doing great until last month. I kept seeing brown tips everywhere and I thought it needed more water, so I upped my routine to every single day with a full can. Well, the pot had no drainage holes and I didn't even check, so the roots just sat in water for like three straight weeks. One morning I noticed the fronds were all limp and yellow and smelled kinda sour, that's when I dug it out and saw the rot. I cut away all the dead roots, repotted it into a terracotta pot with a saucer, and now I only water when the top inch of soil feels dry. It's slowly bouncing back, but has anyone else almost drowned a fern before figuring out drainage? What tips do you have for stopping root rot early?

3 comments

3 Comments

harper_foster2d ago

oh man, the no drainage holes thing is a classic trap. i actually read somewhere that boston ferns are pretty forgiving with moisture as long as you let the topsoil dry out between waterings, not the whole pot. my advice for catching root rot early is to stick your finger in the soil every few days, and if it feels cold or smells like a wet basement, you're probably overdoing it. also, if the tips are browning but the soil is still damp, it might be a humidity issue instead of a water thing. i switched to a pebble tray for mine and it helped a ton.

faith_thomas2d agoMost Upvoted

Did you switch to a pebble tray for the humidity or something else?

kellyjones1d ago

Totally been there with my peace lily that I basically waterboarded before I figured it out. The smell is such a dead giveaway, like wet dirt that went bad in a trash bag. I swear half of plant care is just learning to ignore the urge to water all the time.