Do your ferns have shriveled, brown fronds or a bleached, discolored appearance? It’s easy to forget that plants can also suffer from sunburn, just like people. This common issue often occurs when shade-loving plants like ferns are exposed to too much sunlight. The delicate fronds of ferns start to shrivel around the edges, and their leaf color may become pale and bleached. This can happen when we miscalculate the amount of light or when a tree is pruned, allowing more sunlight than the plant is accustomed to.
Even new plants are susceptible to sunburn. If a plant has been sheltered in a greenhouse and hasn’t been properly acclimated to outdoor conditions, it can easily get sunburned, even with an appropriate amount of light. To help you identify sunburned ferns, take a look at these photos comparing healthy and sunburned ferns:
Happy Tassel Fern
Tassel Fern with Sunburn
Happy Autumn Fern
Autumn Fern with Sunburn
It’s important to distinguish between browning due to sunburn and the normal shedding of leaves. Normally, ferns retain their leaves for 1-2 years, and then the oldest leaves usually turn brown and die back. However, if your fern fronds start looking funky sooner than that, it’s a sign of a problem. The new growth should stay green and attractive for at least a year.
Normal browning of fern fronds generally occurs on the oldest fronds closest to the base. With sunburn, the fronds that are browning are the ones at the top of the plant that are exposed to light. If you shift a brown frond, you’ll usually find nice and green fronds underneath.
To address suspected sunburn, follow these steps:
Step 1: Rule Out Watering Issues
Start by checking if it’s a watering issue. Assess whether the soil is either soggy or very dry. Both under and over-watering can cause leaves to turn brown prematurely or shrivel at the edges. If this is the case, fix the watering issue and observe the new leaves that unfurl over the next six months. If these new leaves also develop problems, it’s likely sunburn, and you’ll need to move the plant to a shadier location.
Step 2: Allow Time for Acclimation
If the plant is newly purchased, sometimes giving it time to settle in and acclimate is enough to solve a mild case of sunburn. While the plant can’t repair the damaged leaves, any new fronds that unfurl should stay healthy and green. However, if the new fronds become damaged either immediately or over the course of a few months, it’s time to consider moving the plant.
Once the fern is relocated to a new spot, it should quickly settle in. After the first month, any new fronds that unfurl should appear healthy and green, maintaining their color for at least a year.
Ferns are low-maintenance, easy-care plants that rarely suffer from pests or diseases. As long as you provide them with the right amount of light and water, they’ll thrive for years to come.
