Q&A for How to Grow a Rabbit Foot Fern

The temperature can drop to about 50 F once in a while but your fern cannot grow in temperatures that low. Keep the temperature between 60-75 F.

Follow the directions in the above article. They are not very sensitive. Water it after repotting and keep it out of direct sunlight. They prefer indirect sun or filtered sunlight. Gradually adjust the plant to more light until it seems happy.

Don't worry. Separate the fronds and re-pot, water good in the beginning and be sure it has indirect sunlight. They like outside better than inside.

They should not be sticky. Your fern may have scale, an insect that secretes a sticky substance called honeydew. It is quite contagious to other plants and very difficult to get rid of.

You have probably over-watered. Try misting more and watering less.

These delicate ferns are difficult to grow indoors..Bring the fern indoors before frost and try to duplicate the outdoor environment the plant is accustomed to.

If it is the underside, then they are spores and completely normal. Not all fronds will have spores. Follow the directions above to collect them if you desire.

If the "feet" are hard and easily snap in two, they're dead. If alive, the inside should be more bendy than brittle and it will be green under the "fur." You might have just a few like that. If so, water and lightly fertilize about every 4-7 days, depending on size of pot. Soil should be lightly moist, not wet, so good drainage is important. This fern thrives outside, but you have to bring it in when it gets in the low 30s, so perhaps all winter.

Do you mean to start new shoots? It's not necessary for that purpose, they start easily just pinned down and slightly nestled in to potting soil. For decorative purposes? This is really an outdoor-lover, so such a cloistered atmosphere might not do it much good.

Water the plant until the soil feels moist. Run a long knife around the inside. Poke something through the hole in the bottom and try to loosen the soil and roots from the pot. Bang the bottom of the pot with your flat hand. If this doesn't work after some serious prodding and whacking, it might be time to break the pot! Mine has been in the same pot for 30+ years because I'm lazy.

Make sure there are plenty of feet still embedded in the soil after cutting some. It may take a couple of years for it to look decent again (fertilize regularly and fronds will start popping up). After a couple more years, it will be its long, fluffy self again, based on my own experience of doing this when I moved. Now, sometimes I have to cut a few back when they get too long.

Over watering is a common way to kill any plant, but it sounds to me like you're watering too little. If it's once a week and "a little bit," then the soil isn't getting soaked. If the furry branches are still alive, give your pot a good soak once a week, add a light dose of fertilizer to the water (follow instructions on the box, there will be an amount to use for every time you water). These ferns bounce back pretty well from neglect as long as there's still life in the branches ("rabbit's feet")!

Medium bright to very bright indirect light is best. However, it can tolerate low light quite well.

A good idea is to take the pot to where you want to plant it. Then carefully shake the pot underneath until it slides. Put it carefully from the bottom into a hole you have dug and pat the soil back gently. Try adding a bit of fertilizer to help it. Make sure you give your fern some water as well.

If they are green inside, they are alive. you could put the cut end in some soil. Leave the furry rhizome above the soil, on top. You could try it. Usually they need 2 fronds or more to work. If they are not green inside, it is probable they are dead.