Tennesse Ostrich

I'm so glad you said "fern" in the last paragraph -- I was getting kinda worried about what you're doing to that poor bird.

Because their natural habitat is usually a forest, ferns generally need lots of water, lots of humidity and filtered sunlight. But I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along soon.

HA!

I dunno.. that corner by my fireplace is at least 7 feet high.
that bird could sit still for his entire life there.. talk about spoiled!

Sounds like all of the instructions are for outdoors. Outdoor deep shade can still mean some direct sun, just not much of it.

Yes, it's an outdoor plant, it won't thrive indoors.
But this one here will, and it doesn't matter if the indoor place is darker

So, to pot my fern, it would need more direct sun then I think?

Maybe.. 4 hours? ( sun from the window of course) I couldnt leave it outside on the patio. The wood heats from the sun too much and could burn it.

The problem with common names, like Tennessee Ostrich Fern is that the same name can be used for totally different plants. Do you know if your fern is Athyrium pycnocarpon or Matteuccia struthiopteris? If you know, then you can google the name and get some better info.

For want of anything better, I think your best bet is:

- rich loam planting medium
- keep medium uniformly moist but watch for root rot
- locate by a bright window (what seems like a bright room inside is still darker than a shady outdoor area), but with sheers or something to filter direct sunlight
- mist daily (crunchy brown tips will tell you that it needs more moisture, yellowing leaves indicate too much water, generally speaking). You can increase the ambient humidity by double potting (smaller pot with loam & fern sunk into a large pot) with damp peat between the 2 pots.
- hope that the smart people will show up on this thread (calling ossobuco and Green Witch)

Diplazium (Athyrium) pycnocarpon Glade Fern

A largely tropical genus of 400 species closely related to Athyrium, Diplazium pycnocarpon is one of the few temperate species native to moist woodlands in the eastern United States. It is also commonly known as Narrow Leafed Spleenwort or Tennessee Ostrich fern, elegant narrow once pinnate fronds can reach 3 ½' if happy, an attractive fern that spreads slowly and is generally easy to cultivate.

You need to try to replicate their normal environment - rich loam, deep shade under trees, protection from intense heat.

Are there any parks near you where you can get into a woodlot and look at how the native ferns grow? They can be fussy in the wrong setting.

Oh !! I .... erm .... okayyyy .... this is not, erm, The Ornithological Dating Site? oop, ne'mind ...

<<waddles away, head down>>