Ferns are a very broad and ancient group of plants and there is an incredibly diverse range of fern types out there. Some are giant tree ferns and others are small little things that grow a few inches tall.
Ferns are a primitive form of a plant. Fern leaves are called fronds, these connect to a stem called a rhizome and this rhizome has a few furry hairy little roots that anchor it to the ground and absorb some nutrients.
If we understand how the fern plant grows, we can also work out when and how to trim our ferns so that 1) they don’t grow out of the pot and 2) they don’t get killed by our trimming. Some ferns are indestructible and others are quite fiddly and die easily.
What Do We Mean When We Ask About Fern “Roots” Growing Out Of The Pot?
Take one part of good potting soil such as this, and then I mix that with the second part of coconut coir (after hydrating it as per the instructions on the block).
• Option One: Be A Dinosaur and Savage The Fern, Or Even Burn It!! - Cut parts of the plant off that you do not like – you can be quite brutal in most cases. If roots, rhizomes, or stolons come out of the pot, cut them off and throw them away.
• Option 2: Multiply Your Fern - Keep the transplanted ferns moist and in a bit of shade for a few days then move them back to the normal place where the parent plant was. You should have a high success rate!
In most cases what you are calling a fern “root” is actually its stem or rhizome. Let us have a look at how ferns grow and how we can help them remain in their pots and do “fern stuff” where we want them to.