How to Transplant Ferns with Easy Steps?

Ferns fall under the most sought-non flowering plant, so having insight into how to transplant them will be an add-on to multiply the plant.

Sounds easy. However, you need to maintain specific requirements for relocating your Fern, and this article will tell you how!

Listen to this article here:

Signs you Need to Transplant Ferns

Although Ferns are slow growers, they can still take up a growth pace of one inch to one foot per year, depending upon the variety.

Some of the other signs you can look over to understand the language of Ferns demanding to transplant include:

• The roots dry out too quickly.
• The plant has outgrown the pot and is falling out of the container.
• Roots tangle up and poke out from the drainage holes.
• Soils become heavy and disrupt the flow of water, sheltering damp conditions consistently.

Best Time to Transplant Ferns

Transplanting a Fern is best done in the early spring or late fall, just before the fiddleheads sprout.

Transplanting is possible in late summer or early fall, though, because of the moisture and coolness in the fall.

Just ensure Ferns fronds have turned brown if you’re transplanting it in the fall, and better to choose a dark or cloudy day to avoid transplant shock.

How to Transplant Ferns from the Wild or Outdoors?

Before transplanting your Ferns, get a clean, sharp spade or shovel.

A knife will come in handy for removing any extra roots or fronds that have become entangled in the Ferns.

After you’ve all the materials, you can start your transplantation process. However, make sure you’re gentle with your plant.

1. Digging up the Fern

Using a clean spade or shovel, dig a revolve around the Fern. Digging straight down is recommended to get out most of the root ball.

Then pull out the Fern clump alongside the roots. While doing this, keep removing the soil from the roots with a brush or using your hands.

While you divide the roots, ensure that each has some leaves growing thereon.

2. Setting up a New Location

While transplanting, it is crucial to understand the plant species to provide it with the proper growing conditions.

A few parts can be replanted in the same spot, while the remnants can be planted in pots or moved to the prepared spot.

You might want to dig a hole relatively of the same depth as in the past at the new location and put each division into the gaps arranged.

Once you’ve put the divisions, cover the roots with soil compost and pack them down to assist the plant in adjusting to the new location.

3. Watering the Transplanted Fern

Once you’ve transplanted your Fern, water it immediately. Ferns prefer a moist environment, so make sure to water your newly transplanted Fern, so it doesn’t dry out.

While growing the Fern in partial shade, you might have to water it more frequently as the water dries quickly in partial shade compared to full shade.

4. Adding Mulch

Most Ferns prefer a thick mulch layer with pine needles and cedar bark.

Cover the soil around the Ferns with a 2-inch layer of pine straw or leaf mold mulch. As the mulch decomposes, it adds more organic matter to the soil, absorbs moisture, keeps the soil cool, and keeps weeds at bay.

It is ideal for adding mulch during every growing season for the soil to remain moist and the plant to stay safe from weeds.

Adding mulch will also help your plants to adjust quickly to their new habitat.

Tip: Avoid using commercial fertilizer in your newly transplanted Fern.

How to Transplant Ferns from Ground to Pot?

You’ll need to follow simple procedures to move Ferns from the ground to a pot.

• Choose a pot that is not too large with enough drainage holes so excess water can drain away.
• Use equal parts sand, gardening soil, and peat moss in the potting mix or at least 50% of peat content if you grow Ferns in soilless media.
• Fill the pot halfway with water and the prepared potting mix to make the mixture moist.
• With a spade, dig out the Fern.
• While removing the root system, gently break and remove the soil.
• Replant the Fern in the material you prepared. Use an extra potting mix to cover the root ball.
• Continue watering until the soil is moist and the excess water drains out of the bottom.
• Place your newly planted Fern in a dimly lit place.

Take reference from the video!

Care Tips for Transplanted Fern

After replanting the Ferns in their new location, you must provide water and plant food. Prepare a watering can or use a watering hose for this purpose.

You’ll also need to cover the newly transplanted Fern with organic mulch and compost.

Once you’ve transplanted the Fern, ensure the optimum conditions to make them adapt faster.

• Consider planting Ferns in wet, organic-rich soil in a location receiving plenty of light or dappled shade for 4-6 hours daily.
• Maintain the mulch depth by replenishing it once or twice a year.
• Water Ferns once or twice a week with an inch of water during hot days to keep the soil moist.
• Cut back water during the rainy season to avoid the soggy condition.
• When new growth appears in the spring, apply a balanced fertilizer diluted to half its strength monthly.
• Sprinkle the fertilizer 6 inches from the Ferns base on the ground and dig it into the pot’s top 2 inches of soil.
• To dissolve the nutrients into the soil, water after applying the fertilizer to rinse the residue off the foliage.
• To keep the Ferns looking their best, remove any dead leaves.
• Then, after the leaf has yellowed and died down naturally, cut back deciduous Ferns in the fall.