boston ferns

Question

I recently had to be gone for a while and the person caring for my plants didn’t water them enough. I have several brown/dead leaves on my fern. Do I pluck them off? Or allow them to fall of naturally? It is a rather large fern, and does not seem to be happy in its current placement, so I am also moving it. But I am moving it to a corner near a window, so how often should the plant be turned to allow it to get adequate light all the way around?

Answer 1

You can go ahead and trim off any brown leaves. They are dead and do not help the plant.

As far as light, you should get into the habit of giving the plant a quarter turn every time you check to see if it needs to be watered. This will ensure that the plant gets even amounts of light over time.

Answer 2

Heather,
I will take off the brown dead leaves…but should i cut them off at the base of the plant? thanks 🙂 I found your answer very helpful!

Answer 3

You can trim them off just below where the brown area is, if you want. But if it is more visually appealing for you to remove the whole frond, you can do that too.

Glad to help. Happy gardening!

Answer 4

Thanks! It looks better already 🙂