Crocodile Fern problems & how to fix them
Microsorum musifolium
Drooping, yellowing, brown tips, or a plant that just won’t thrive? Here are the most common Crocodile Fern problems, what usually causes them, and how to turn things around.
Common problems
Crispy tips (low humidity)
Its large thin fronds brown at the edges fast in dry, heated rooms. Brown, dry leaf tips caused by air that is too dry for the plant, common in heated or air-conditioned rooms. Existing crispy tips never turn green again, but with higher humidity new growth should come in clean within a few weeks.
Root rot
A heavy mix that stays wet in a cool room rots the crown. A fungal or bacterial infection of the roots, almost always triggered by soil staying wet too long. Caught early, most plants recover within a few weeks after repotting; if most roots are already mushy, recovery is uncertain.
Phytophthora root rot on a dug-up root ball
Photo: Jerzy Opioła · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Fungal leaf spot
Water left sitting on the textured fronds in still air invites leaf-spot fungi. A fungal infection that creates dark spots inside leaf tissue, often with yellow halos, and spreads through water splash on wet leaves. Existing spots will not heal, but with pruning and drier foliage the spread usually stops within two to three weeks.
Cercospora leaf spots with dark rims on a spinach leaf
Photo: Plant pests and diseases · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cold damage
It sulks and browns below about 59°F (15°C) — this is a genuinely tropical fern. Tissue injury from a cold draft, a chilly windowsill, or a night outdoors below the plant's tolerance. Damaged leaves will not heal, but if the stems and roots survived, new growth typically appears within three to four weeks in a warm, stable spot.
fig leaves killed by a frost
Photo: Famartin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The mistakes that most often kill it
- Cold drafts or rooms under 59°F (15°C) in winter.
- Letting it dry out repeatedly in low humidity.
- Watering into the rosette center until the crown rots.
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