Q and A: Those Pesky Ferns

Thanks to Ginny for our question today:

Question: I'm on my second week of owning two little silver dollar ferns - I bought them on impulse and am now learning that I don't have a moist enough environment for them as they are drying up. I'm misting them, but, alas, not enough.

Do you have any quick solutions so that they don't perish by the end of the week?

Answer: A great quick and easy way to provide an ailing plant with a high-humidity environment is to slip the plant into a clear ziplock plastic bag (or light colored bag) and set upright "inside" and centered in the bag in indirect light. Try to position the plant so the foliage is not touching the sides of the bag.

You can seal or tie the bag completely, or leave it partially open to allow for some air flow. If the bag is left partially open the plant should be content for several days or more (I have kept some small potted ferns in plastic bags for months on end.) This should create a humid incubator-like sick bay for your plants to recuperate.

If your plant is too large to slip into a plastic bag you can also try positioning the plants on plastic trays filled with some gravel or bark and a half inch or so of water. The evaporation of the water will raise the humidity around the plants.