‘We got the C-Fern to grow in soil and for a month or so they were doing really well. Then, after returning from vacation, the ferns were wilted in their pots. What happened?’
Several factors may be responsible for the wilting of sporophytes Could they have not gotten watered over a weekend? Did environmental conditions change drastically (i.e., lower humidity, cold weather)? Perhaps they were infected by a new pathogen.
If sporophytes are badly wilted, it may be too late to save them. If they get too stressed the apical cells in the shoots will die and even if they seem to recover some, they may not grow new leaves. However, the small buds on the leaves will begin to grow and can be used to clone the plants (refer to the C-Fern Manual or Greenhouse Culture – Cloning section for details).
