My neighbor in Portland swore by watering her ferns with leftover tea

She said the tannins made them thrive, so I tried it on my Boston fern for about two months. It ended up with these weird brown spots all over the fronds, and I had to repot it with fresh soil. Has anyone else had a plant care tip from a friend totally backfire?

3 comments

3 Comments

linda_murphy1mo ago

Well it kind of is a science experiment, gray_roberts. Changing one thing like tea for water is testing a cause and effect, and it clearly hurt the plant. I bet @bettyperry's neighbor saw a real result from changing just the soil mix too.

gray_roberts2mo ago

Totally backfire" seems a bit much. It's just a plant, not a science experiment. Probably just needed different soil, happens all the time.

bettyperry2mo ago

My neighbor’s fiddle-leaf fig grew three feet after she finally changed the potting mix.