Question
So i have three in door ferns one is a rainbow fern the other is a maiden hair or something along that line and the other im not sure but its very petite it reminds me of little ginkgo leaves! well i have no luck with these plants, which happen to be my favorite type,i just love them.i water them every other day usually with a water bottle sometimes in the sink but there never soaking just damp or moist. Ive tried them in different lighting but never in direct light. I do not have the air on so my house is not dry.They just always seem to dye, i will always get new growth and it will look nice for a while (mabe a week) and then the leaves will turn brown and then dry up and dye. What am i doing wrong:( Please help!!!

Answer
Dear Monica;

I am happy for your fern enthusiasm and hope, through my answer, to help you gather greater enjoyment from your plants.

Naturally, if you were able to send digital photos of your plants, I may be able to provide better answers (but I will do my best, regardless).

Most of the ferns we have in our homes are tropical.  That means they originate from the rainforest and prefer an environment that is similar to their natural habitat: warm, shady, and humid.  Unless you have a terrarium or sun-room where your plants can enjoy their natural surroundings, most homes will be darker and drier than plants would prefer.  When maidenhairs and other tender ferns display tip die-back, this is often a result of excess transpiration: the plant is losing more water through its leaves than it can gather through its roots.  We can reduce transpiration in the home environment by raising the humidity around the plant.  This may be accomplished by finely misting the plant once or twice a day.  As some people may find this to be a hassle, they may locate the plants where there is less air-flow (further from the AC vents, for example).  I suspect some enthusiasts (as we do professionally, in the greenhouse) would use electric or battery operated misters or humidifiers.

Another interesting and natural way of increasing humidity around your fern is by layering your houseplants in a way that you would have some large-leaf foliage as a canopy to help protect the tender fern underneath.

Your watering habits appear adequate, though I would recommend always watering the plant to field-capacity before resetting it.  That would mean dipping in the sink or running water until it can take no more, and then letting it finish dripping from the bottom.  I rarely encounter a houseplant that needs as many waterings as you have mentioned, which leads me to suspect you are either not applying enough water, or that the plant has outgrown its container (and will need transplanting).

You have not told me whether you have fertilized your plant.  Ferns are sensitive to excess fertilizer so if you gave them too much or if they have gone too dry, the tips will die.  This will correct itself over time as the fertilizer expires.

Another reason fern tips may die back is aphids.  These are tiny yellow creatures that will converge on the tip and stem, and will suck the fluids from the plant.  There are many commercial (chemical and botanical) products available, but you can also spray these with a solution of dish detergent and water, and then wipe them off a couple of days later.  You may cause some slight damage to the plant, but in the long run it would thank you...

Unless the plant is exposed to direct mid-day sunlight, I cannot imagine too much light being the problem.  Accordingly, if the room has plenty of natural light, I do not think it is too dark.  

The last and least possibility is that the plant had contracted some bacterial or viral disease, but that is highly unlikely, and the plant would not survive.

I hope I have given you some interesting tips and that at least one of them would help solve your problem.  If not, feel free to follow up and I will examine other possibilities.

DC