Hello Mudlady,

The bottom should have some hint of roots. Carefully look at the crown and look for tight brown bumps about the size of beans. This side would be the "up" side. There may be sticks or brown things coming out of the "up" side, but they should not look like roots. If you still can't figure it out, soak it in water for about 2 hours. Swish away all dirt and then look for the brown nubs. If you still can't find the top, then keep them for about 5 days between several layers of wet newspaper in a warm room. Make sure the paper doesn't dry out or get stinky and mildewy. It's best to change the paper every day and mist it with fresh water. Check after the fifth day to see if you see any brown or green nubs are swelling on one side, or any white root growth on the other side.

If you don't see anything by that time, post again here and we'll review what's happened. I'll be glad to check for your post and help you out, if needed.

Good luck,

Lainey

Lainey--
Thank you for answering. I will follow your directions. I do fault the company for failing to send instructions. These two ferns are important to me because they are so prolific in coastal Maine, my favorite state.
Mudlady

Hi Lainey,

Soaking reveals this: The cinnamon root is a slice of something that looks a little like cork. One has roots on three sides and nothing coming from what I assume is the top. It looks like it has been sliced away from a larger piece. The other "cork" thing has little roots on all sides.
The interrupted roots are a joke. They barely exist! They are little black roots attached to a very slightly larger twig--smaller than a bobby pin. I have no clue as to which way is up. When I received an order of small bulbs the instructions said if in doubt, plant on the side and the bulb would figure out what to do. Are ferns that forgiving? I guess I need to go to the wet newspaper stage.

Mudlady

I think we've got this solved Mudlady. You obviously have a interrupted fern rhizome instead of a crown, so you can plant it horizontally about 2 inches beneath the soil line.

The cinnamon fern, the corky-looking piece is no doubt the top, so plant it upward, only a half-inch below the soil with the roots spread out around it. (what roots there are.)

Some ferns are very forgiving, but I honestly can't remember which ones are which, but I think we've got this figured out, so you shouldn't have much of a problem.

Good luck and let me know how it all turns out.

Lainey

Lainey,
I have 5 fair JPEGs. Will you send my your e-mail address so I can send them to you? I messed around with the gallery and think it will be easier to send the pics directly to you.
Mudlady
moonshineslegacy@a-znet.com

It is easy to post a photo right here in the discussion. Open a free account at Photobucket or a similar photohosting site. Upload your photos to your account there. Copy the tag line from the photo in photobucket to the text of your message here. The pic should show up when you hit preview.

I am glad I am not the only one that has had this problem. I got several things from a guy on ebay with no instructions that were cut back so far I couldn't tell what was what. Unfortunately, I didn't have the forsight to post about it before I planted them. I think I threw that money away.

Kim