Does anyone have any experience with Boston Ferns from Lowe's or HD?

[Anonymous]

Last year I had two Boston Ferns I got at Costco. I watered and maintained them religiously (soaked them 2x/week in water in which a small amount of Miracle Gro and Epsom salts were dissolved) and they were huge and amazing. Always new green growth, never a hint of brown, just really nice beautiful ferns.

This year, drunk with the previous year's success I bought 4 ferns for my porch. By the time I felt it was warm enough to get some, Costco had long since sold out and so I got them from Lowes. They seemed fine at first, but now the edges are browning. They are on the same watering and feeding schedule, but just don't seem to be flourishing like last year's ferns. There is some new growth coming up from the center, but it is minimal. The only real difference I can see is that the hanging baskets from Lowe's are quite a lot smaller but when I read about ferns, it says that they shouldn't outgrow the pot the first year. But maybe this is why everyone says don't get your ferns from Lowe's! Maybe they are destined to fail.

Anyway, I realize this is long and rambling, but I am just wondering if anyone has had any success or failures with their ferns that might lend any insight. I guess I can re-pot them but am having a hard time finding the larger hanging pots that aren't the weird jute stuff.