Thank you, @ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5! Are you saying I need different soil? Or will watering more lightly next time be sufficient?

You’d have to tell is what soil is in there. You wouldn’t water more lightly but perhaps less often. How are you determining the soil has dried out deep in the pot?

tj

@tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱, I used Miracle-Gro Indoor Potting Mix. It has been over a week since I watered it -- I've been feeling the soil to see if it's still moist (but I have a moisture reader on the way!). The fern is new, so I watered it once when I got it home and once when I repotted it a few days later.

Meters are known to be inaccurate. Use a chopstick or pointed wooden dowel stuck down deep and see if it comes out moist. MG potting mixes tend to stay moist too long. Have you a pic of the bag.?

tj

@tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱, that is helpful to know! I've thrown the bag away, but I think this was the one.

My ferns do well in Al’s 5-1-1 mix (pine bark, sifted peat & sifted course-grade perlite. they do like a little more sun than most people think. and like watered often, but also to dry out fairly quickly. if you get outside much to the woods, you will notice most ferns grow at the edges of woodlands, on sloping, rocky or rolling ground and oftetn near creeks streams or rivers. So bright shade, lots of humidy, keep evely moist, in well draining soil but dont let the soil dry all the way out, just drier than damp, if that makes sense. Thats how I take care of mine & they have done well for the last 6 yrs. Although 2 of the ferns in my mixed fern bowls are getting huge & shading out the others, so Ive had some browning fronds lately from teduced light. A repot is in order this week.

Very helpful, @Rebecca/N. IN/z6A! Thank you. I bought the fern about two weeks ago and repotted it (in perhaps too big a pot) about 10 days ago. I don't want to re-disturb it, but since the soil is taking so long to dry out, is it worth repotting with better soil?

If it were my plant, I would repot. Otherwise you risk using the plant. It’s got lots of energy store up now in the summer season so it’ll rebound from a 2nd repot quite nicely. I’d also check the roots when unpot it and clip off any that are mushy (rot).

I grow my ferns in a wicking pot with a constant water reservoir. They seem to like it. I live in a very dry climate.

I will try repotting! Thanks, all!

you may be trying to love it to death ..

its stressed from shipping from grower to seller

its stressed from moving from seller to your house...

its stressed from you immediately repotting it... without letting it recover from the previous stresses ..

and now you want to stress it again.. by repotting it again ...

thats a lot of stress ..

how about you leave it alone for at lest a month.. and probably not water it in the meantime ...

and fert is never a response to stress ...

if it settles down from all that.. you can repot it in 30 to 45 days ....

ken