My dying Ferns....what am I doing wrong?

So I've had these two ferns in my bathroom which has a small south facing window for just over a year and in the past 6 months they just suddenly started a slow decent towards dying.

Anyone know what I'm doing wrong or have any suggestions on how I can create a happy home for them?

 

Hello @Jungle Jane Your indoor ferns undergo the same circle as outdoor ferns and should now develop new fronds. Just leave the dying ones on the fern until March and cut it down when you see new grow.

 

Have you taken them out of the cache-pots to see whether the compost might be too wet or too dry? My first course of action would be to re-pot them, even if it's into fresh compost in the same size pots. That way, you'll see what state the roots are in

 

South facing is not ideal as ferns generally prefer no direct sun, especially through glass as that acts like a greenhouse panel. That said, the bathroom will have higher humidity than other rooms, which ferns like.

Have the pots got drainage holes?

 

We have ferns in the shower room area and even though the humidity from the shower should be enough they are regularly sprayed with rain water. They have been in situ now for over 10 years. The "rabbit foot fern" does drop fronds every year but new ones soon start to grow.

 

They look like every fern I've tried to grow in the house apart from stagshorn fern which appears to like normal living conditions.

I've accepted that some plants just dont like the same conditions I do, so avoid them.
I'd probably look similar if you made me live in a fernery.

 

Thanks everyone for their response

The plastic pot it sits in is a typical plastic pot but sits inside a ceramic pot. The fern was not in direct sunlight and was on a south facing wall but well away from the window, so in a dark corner. It was happy there for 6 months or so and then suddenly sulked and has never recovered. Thought it might have been the lighting dipping further in the winter but I'm no expert really....

I think that's one in the smaller pot. I've always felt disappointed with the growth rate of this one.

I'm starting to wonder the same thing now.
A friend of mine has 2 very happy healthy ferns in her kitchen I think they face west facing windows though.....so I suppose there is someone who can do it!

 

Did the wilting coincide with central heating going on? Just a thought.

Many ferns can manage low light levels, though there are exceptions, so I wouldn’t think that was the problem. Some prefer acid soil and rainwater over tap water, but if they were doing fine before and you haven’t changed anything, that is unlikely to be the issue.

A puzzlement!

 

Trouble with window sill growing is that it varies at different times of the year a west facing window sill maybe fine in the winter for ferns but can be a real hot spot in summer.
I think ferns in general like fairly stable conditions, with good indirect light all year. And I think a tendency to over water can be a problem.

 

I have more casualties with houseplants than plants in the garden. Were your ferns bought as houseplants @Jungle Jane or could they be given a new location outside?