Location: near Livermore, California.
I don't have an ID on the struggling fern. When I got it, it was labeled, "red fern," but it's not a lady in red. It looks like it may be an Asplenium (kind of like trichomanes but with the leaf-shape of cirrhatum).
Initially, the problem fern was having no new growth at all. After a while it started slowly throwing up new fronds (only one or two) but other than one, they seemed really meek. This whole time the remnants of the older growth is dropping leaves. Now I'm noticing that the new growth is drying out, shriveling up, and that there's a lot of new fiddleheads but the majority of them are a dark brown and mushy -- so much so that they fall apart if touched. I'm watering it as I used to (it got to this state under someone else's stewardship while I was away, no idea what they were doing) and I'm misting it a few times a day, along with my other ferns but they don't seem to be having the same issues (my autumn for example has brown fiddleheads too but they aren't mushy like this one's).
Poking around I've also noticed that the base also smells a little sharp, not particularly offensive but not like my other ferns. I've also found a loose, dark clot of dirt near the surface that was very hard and brittle even though it was appropriately moist (I tried breaking it apart and it seemed to have some very fine hairlike roots going through it maybe?).
I've looked all over and I can't seem to find anything with a similar description. It's not clear to me if there are multiple problems going on or what the best course of action is so any advice is appreciated. Worst case scenario, I have a microscope handy.
Edit: great suggestion to attach photos!
Since they've too large filesize, I made an Imgur album here: https://i.stack.imgur.com/KBRQc.jpg
The first: the fern itself. The larger, not-shriveled fronds are its previous growth (the dark brown spots from whatever happened while I was away. They don't appear to have been exacerbated). They're continually dropping their leaves. The new growth is shriveled and wilting.
The second: some fiddleheads. One green, one encased in a membrane, the others are fairly dark. Not all quite mushy (whenever I posted this, I agitated most of the mushy ones). The light brown stuff spackling the soil is just some cinnamon I applied superficially since I was worried about fungi and I don't have time yet to prepare new soil.
The third: an attempt to get a better photo of a mushy fiddlehead (was too difficult; it looks largely the same as the other brown fiddleheads). It may be worth noting that I don't think that the fiddle-head color is much different from when it was thriving but I may be mistaken.
The fourth: some of the now-dry mushy fiddleheads that fall off (and I unfurled). Not sure if this is useful but added just in case.
The fifth: the now-dry soil clot that I had mentioned pulling apart.
Thank you very much!
