Boston Fern Scrunchie

Repotting Boston ferns is a pain. They're big. They have fronds flopping every which way, there are often dead fronds around the base of the plant, right where you have to add the new dirt, which can be so stiff they're sharp. And so it's kind of an ordeal.

But when I was getting ready to repot a customer's plant on Saturday, I had an idea. Here's what I did.

I cut a piece of plastic from a roll we've got in the potting room.

I popped the fern out of its old pot.

I laid it down on the piece of plastic I cut, so the foliage rested on the plastic and the root ball was not on the plastic.

Then I rolled the foliage up in the plastic and then taped the plastic to itself, basically making it into the scrunchie for a fern ponytail:



I repotted with this on the plant, which kept the fronds out of my way and let me get my hands in close enough to add the dirt around the root ball, and then when the repotting was finished, I pulled the plastic off --

-- and it was done.

Granted, it's a little bit complicated to wrap the fern in plastic in the first place, but I think it's still faster to take the time to do that than it is to have to keep brushing fronds back so you can see where to put the dirt. Even if it actually takes longer, it's way less frustrating.

One could substitute butcher paper for plastic and the basic theory would still hold up, I think.

Maybe this is not a big deal, and everybody else already knew about this. But I was pretty proud of myself.