Plant RX

Several of my neighbors think I'm a "speaker to plants" not by training, just by years and a semi-green thumb.  This week one brought three one gallon pots with some sort of brown things each with a few branches that may have once been plants, I'm still not sure.  She couldn't remember the name, but was sure all three were the same type.  I have them in the basement, soaking in some pans with worm tea water, have to wait and see, at this point I don't have much hope, they may become material for the compost bin.

My next case this week is a rescue of an Australian Sword Fern - Nephrolepis obliterate.  I've finger combed all the brown out that I could, removed several acorns and a few oak leaves.  I'm sure that it is severely root bound, as it has sent out leaves from the four drainage holes.  My question is how far can I cut the mass of roots back??  I want to try and save all four new shoots as well as the mother plant.  Can I cut the mother plant in half??  I know that the root ball will need to be cut back.

Any ideas will be a great help.

Peace

 

You are now my hero Deane! I am also a killer of houseplants - unless they thrive on neglect like my orchid and my jade plant - I'd much rather garden outside!

According to plantophiles the ferns like to be a bit pot bound and can also be divided. I think you've got a good chance of them surviving.
I take it that it is roots that are coming out of the holes? I would be inclined to try not to trim all the roots back - can you trim some and leave the rest long and feed them back through the hole? The site does say that root rot can be a problem, so aftercare will be important.

Nancy, now it's my turn to blush.  I wonder if a guy with fast thinning hair shows a blush on top of his head?  I tried to look in the mirror (that does not work).

Thank you for your kindness.

Peace

I would pull the root ball out of the pot to examine. Tease loose the bound roots and remove rotten part if there's any. Shake off old potting soil and repot in a bigger container. If you want to divide,  you can pull or sever the big clumps apart into multiple smaller crowns. I have divided my cotton candy fern into four. Ferns are quite forgiving.