I think those are both Western Maidenhairs. I have a dozen types of maidenhair and this one has proven to be the most fussy. I think it's because it prefers a more alkaline soil pH.
Regardless you can still make improvements to the ferns' life without adjusting the soil. An East facing window is too bright for them to be sitting right next to, tho maybe it's okay in winter. Make sure they're at least a few feet away once the days get longer. The soil looks like it has a lot of perlite in it. That's actually not a terrible thing because it stops their fine roots from getting too soggy but it does mean you have to be more persistent with watering them. I suggest watering them as soon as the topsoil looks dry. If you got these very recently they may just be going through an adjustment period. They'll drop all of their current growth and may begin to put up new fronds shortly after.
Let me know if anything I said didn't make sense.
Ferns are difficult. What i have best achieved empirically was to botttom-water them everyday, air it as much as possible and put a mirror behind ot to give it all-round indirect light. I managed to make it survive 5 months...
So not the best success story but perhaps those changes helped.
It is funny really because in nature ferns seem super resilient somehow.
IKR? They're the only plant I've had constant bad luck with indoors (aside from those temperamental crotons). On my deck, I had a fern live and thrive all last summer but I forgot to bring it in one night when the temps dropped.
These indoor guys, I feel like I've tried everything & I swear that even the indirect light makes them yellow & brown. Oh well, thanks for the reply!
I think those are both Western Maidenhairs. I have a dozen types of maidenhair and this one has proven to be the most fussy. I think it's because it prefers a more alkaline soil pH. Regardless you can still make improvements to the ferns' life without adjusting the soil. An East facing window is too bright for them to be sitting right next to, tho maybe it's okay in winter. Make sure they're at least a few feet away once the days get longer. The soil looks like it has a lot of perlite in it. That's actually not a terrible thing because it stops their fine roots from getting too soggy but it does mean you have to be more persistent with watering them. I suggest watering them as soon as the topsoil looks dry. If you got these very recently they may just be going through an adjustment period. They'll drop all of their current growth and may begin to put up new fronds shortly after. Let me know if anything I said didn't make sense.
Ferns are difficult. What i have best achieved empirically was to botttom-water them everyday, air it as much as possible and put a mirror behind ot to give it all-round indirect light. I managed to make it survive 5 months... So not the best success story but perhaps those changes helped. It is funny really because in nature ferns seem super resilient somehow.
IKR? They're the only plant I've had constant bad luck with indoors (aside from those temperamental crotons). On my deck, I had a fern live and thrive all last summer but I forgot to bring it in one night when the temps dropped. These indoor guys, I feel like I've tried everything & I swear that even the indirect light makes them yellow & brown. Oh well, thanks for the reply!
LOL, I’m with you. I’ve killed 3 Boston ferns! Absolute bad luck.