Boston Fern question

[Paul O.]

Hi folks. I have a rather large Boston Fern on my front porch in a 16" pot,
and no room to put it in the ground. Also don't really have room to put it
in a bigger pot. This thing is growing like crazy and would like to know if
there is a proper way to trim one of these back without damaging it? Thanks
for your help.

--
Paul O.

[Ricky]

"Paul O." > wrote in message
. com...
> Hi folks. I have a rather large Boston Fern on my front porch in a 16"
pot,
> and no room to put it in the ground. Also don't really have room to put it
> in a bigger pot. This thing is growing like crazy and would like to know
if
> there is a proper way to trim one of these back without damaging it?
Thanks
> for your help.

Paul - take the whole plant out of the pot and put it on the ground on some
newspaper (so you don't make a mess). Next take a large sharp knife and just
cut the plant into quarters (half and then half again). Cut right through
the root ball. Put each piece in a new pot with some fresh potting soil and
water heavily. We do this in landscape all the time with ferns. We buy 3
gallon plants and cut them either in half or in quarters.

[Phisherman]

On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 23:46:02 GMT, "Paul O." >
wrote:

>Hi folks. I have a rather large Boston Fern on my front porch in a 16" pot,
>and no room to put it in the ground. Also don't really have room to put it
>in a bigger pot. This thing is growing like crazy and would like to know if
>there is a proper way to trim one of these back without damaging it? Thanks
>for your help.

You can divide it in half. Take it out of the pot, slice it down the
middle with a machete, and pot up the two halves. Keep it out of any
direct sun for several days to recover.

[Paul O.]

"Phisherman" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 01 Dec 2004 23:46:02 GMT, "Paul O." >
> wrote:
>
>>Hi folks. I have a rather large Boston Fern on my front porch in a 16"
>>pot,
>>and no room to put it in the ground. Also don't really have room to put it
>>in a bigger pot. This thing is growing like crazy and would like to know
>>if
>>there is a proper way to trim one of these back without damaging it?
>>Thanks
>>for your help.
>
> You can divide it in half. Take it out of the pot, slice it down the
> middle with a machete, and pot up the two halves. Keep it out of any
> direct sun for several days to recover.

Thanks folks. Wondering what the roots are like on this big guy? If there is
a big ball, can the roots be cut shorter and allowed to grow again? Thanks
again.
--
Paul O.