Question
Two questions please:  First, I bought an adorable "Button Fern" in a 4-in pot 3 mos ago.  It is surviving, but not thriving.  I water it only when it is dry on the surface, have placed it on a humidity (pebble) tray, and even have it in my bathroom for gosh sakes!  Still, no thriving.  The center has a few new fronds growing out of it, but most of them are brownish.  The older leaves, though, remain green and healthy.  (By the way, it gets curtain-filtered light).  I've given this fern more attention than my 5-year old lately!  What else can I do???  I've never had luck with ferns; I thought this time I'd do everything right and have success.

Also, my daughter has a syngonium (Arrow plant) which is 6-7 years old.  Though it is in bright light, it is not thriving, either.  What can she, or I do for it?  I would like to see lovely green arrow-shaped green leaves sprouting, with some bushiness, if possible.  One thing Amy has done wrong, I suppose, is to never prune or cut back the plant when it starts to "branch out".  Rather, the branches grow long and even "root" themselves at some point. Some are 5 feet long!  In other words, she has too many BRANCHES and not enough ARROWS.  Many thanks for reading my long questions, and thanks in advance for your kind suggestions.

Answer
Patricia,

I'm not great with ferns myself but I did a little research on your button fern. I found out that these ferns do like moist roots, but they detest water on their foliage and don't like/need humidity.

Culture for best commercial production:

Light: Not critical...filtered shade to part day sun as long as the sun isn't mid-day sun.

Temperature: 60?to low 80?s (for production).

Feed: 100 ppm Nitrogen and pH 5.8 to 6.4. Note: Try a winter feed with less ammonia nitrogen that has a source of magnesium and calcium. Scott's Excel 15-5-15 or similar would be a good choice. Not necessary to feed once they are planted in the ground.

Water: Keep moist but not wet. The trick to good "Button Ferns" is correct water balance.

Potting Mix: Mix should have some peat for ion exchange capacity but should drain well. In the ground they are much more forgiving and will even withstand brief periods of drought.

Pest Control: Not generally bothered by pests. Scale prevention may be needed where there is some source (such as citrus groves nearby). Orthene(r) plus Talstar(r) work well.

After reading that I would remove the humidity tray and water it every couple of days but never leave water sitting in the drain tray under the plant for more than an hour. I would also open the curtains a bit so it gets a bit more light.

As for you daughter's syngonium, that was my first houseplant that I got when my tonsils were removed in 1957. I did not prune mine either  and it got very scraggly looking. I now prune mine regularly and use the cuttings to start new plants to give away. I suggest that your daughter takes some cuttings from hers and starts a new plant. When she sees how much better that looks she will prune it regularly.  Put several cuttings in a new pot of soil and it will be bushy in no time.

Good luck.

Darlene