Recently I realized the potting mix I had been using, was actually very poor soil, even though it had been marketed as the best. I have now found a better draining mix, and re-potted many of my other plants with the new. I figured I would take things in stages, as a couple of my plants will need to be moved to larger pots soon.
History of what occurred.....
I bought this fern sometime after Christmas, and I potted it early February with the "old, poor mix" used with another plant that didn't survive our move in the fall. As a note, I was a little skiddish about buying new soil, because of a fungus gnat problem in the past, so that is why I used soil I knew was ok. The old, poor mix seems drains ok (maybe because it's old?), but it's obviously not as rich as the new mix I have on hand now.
This is my first compact fern, so I think it will get bigger, but not sure how much. It's a little larger pot, I'm wondering how long I would wait before moving up.......probably a while.?
Every water, I include a water soluble fertilizer at the low dose. I now think it's the fertilizer and the light it gets in the northwest window is what's keeping the plant happy. I mist it sometimes, sometimes I don't. It really doesn't seem to care whether I do.
So my question is, should I replace the old soil with the new soil? I've hesitated because I go by the rule of "if it ain't broke don't fix it", thinking, don't disturb the plant! At the same time I wonder if leaving the fern this way is somehow detrimental long term and I should look at it as an improvement. That is the quandary.
P.S. This is indoors only- I will not be moving it outside this summer.
