Boston Fern question
 

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.

"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.

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.

"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.