If you forgot to water your maidenhair fern, this video will show you what will likely happen with the fern and what to do. Many maidenhair ferns will lose foliage if they are droughted. Find out what to do after you forget to water the fern, and see how much damage the fern is likely to have from not being watered in time.
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Okay, so today we are checking in on what to do if you forget to water your maidenhair fern. Well, the first thing you want to do, obviously, is water it. I was lucky enough—I say lucky enough—to get someone who did underwater their maidenhair fern, so I could show you what happens when you do underwater them. I have another video on how to keep them healthy, and obviously, this was a problem because it was underwatered.
What will happen when you first underwater it and you water it? So do water it; do some bottom watering on it. That’s where you put the pot itself into a little bit bigger vessel of water, fill it with warm water, and let the whole soil get very well hydrated. I have a video on how to bottom water, and I’ll link it below so the plant can recover. At first, you may think, “Oh, it’s okay. I think it’s okay,” but then you will notice over a few days—give it a few days—what will happen is you get the crunchy leaves.
The plant will basically get rid of certain branches in response to the drought. Plants do that when they’re droughted; they will let go of some of their stems. The first thing to go if they are flowering plants will be their flowers or their fruit, because they take up the most moisture. Then they will go and start letting go of stems. So this one, as you can see, let go of quite a bit here.
What I’m going to do right now is what you want to do once you’ve let the plant sit for about a week—at least a week after the drowning—and you want to cut the dead stuff off at the base of the plant. You kind of have to go in there and be careful because the maidenhair fern has very fine stems, and you can find healthy ones intertwined with dead ones. You don’t want to cut off any of the good stuff, so cut off as much as you can at the base of the plant.
See, I did get a little healthy, but not really; it’s actually what’s going out as well. So follow it down to the base as you prune. What we’re doing here is cleaning it up. Like I said, if this has been sitting for a couple of weeks, this will help me know what is dead and what didn’t die back.
I’m going to clean it up, and then we are going to determine, at that point, whether it needs to be repotted. It may have lost so much upper growth that there is not enough upper growth for the amount of soil the plant is in. If you have— and I have a video on this, and I talk about this all the time—you want a two-thirds plant to one-third pot combo. If the plant has not enough growth and there’s more soil, say there’s two-thirds soil to one-third plant, what happens is the soil remains too wet because there are not enough roots to soak up the moisture in the soil, and the plant will succumb to root rot.
Now, one thing about maidenhair ferns is they like to be kept on the wet side. Unlike a lot of houseplants that like to approach dryness, you want to keep these guys moist. So a lot of times it is okay for the soil to be moist, but you still want that good ratio even with these guys. I am taking a look here; it’s pretty much borderline what I might want to do.
I probably think I might be transferring to this size pot, but I’m going to give the plant a little bit more time. Now that I have pruned, I will see if she starts showing signs of regrowth. If she doesn’t, then I’m going to put her into a little bit smaller pot.
If there was any other type of plant that had been droughted, I would put it into the smaller pot right away because, like I mentioned, most houseplants like the soil to approach dryness. But this one, since it does like a little wetter conditions, you can have a little more wiggle room in that area.
It is best if you have droughted a plant that is stressing it to not repot it if you don’t have to. That’s why I’m going to give her a couple more weeks, and I’ll be looking for little green fronds coming out in the soil at the base of the plant. If I see that, that’s a really good sign; it means she’s saying, “Okay, I’m not going to die back all the way. I’m going to give you new growth, and I will eventually look as beautiful as I once did.”
But it’s going to take a while. It could take a year to get back to where you were, so you need to be patient. In the meantime, you want to go buy another one that looks really good and keep nursing the other plant.
That is something you can do at this point. I would not fertilize yet either. You generally don’t want to fertilize a plant that has been stressed—that has been droughted—until it starts to show new growth. So I am going to wait, keep her in bright light like she likes, and make sure to keep her soil moist and look for new growth before I would fertilize her.
So that is that on what to do if you drought your maidenhair fern. A lot of times they won’t die back all the way, as you can see. They will take some time to look really pretty again, but at least you can save them.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Maidenhair Fern Care
What should I do if I forget to water my maidenhair fern?
The first thing you want to do is water it. Perform bottom watering by placing the pot in a larger vessel of warm water to let the soil fully hydrate.
What happens when a maidenhair fern is underwatered?
When a maidenhair fern is underwatered, it may start to show crunchy leaves and shed certain branches in response to the drought.
How do I prune my maidenhair fern after underwatering?
Carefully cut the dead stems off at the base of the plant, ensuring to avoid cutting off healthy stems intertwined with the dead ones.
When should I consider repotting my maidenhair fern?
If the plant has lost too much upper growth and there is more soil than plant, you may need to repot it. Ideally, aim for a two-thirds plant to one-third pot ratio.
How often should I water my maidenhair fern?
Maidenhair ferns prefer to be kept on the wet side, so it’s important to keep the soil moist but maintain a good plant-to-soil ratio.
Should I fertilize my maidenhair fern after it has been underwatered?
No, it’s best to wait until the plant starts showing new growth before fertilizing a stressed maidenhair fern.
How long does it take for a maidenhair fern to recover from underwatering?
It can take up to a year for a maidenhair fern to fully recover and look beautiful again after being underwatered.
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