Darryl

Thanks for the photos and care details.

Environment | Effort | Expectations Assessment

You clearly have a great growing environment and good care efforts to have enjoyed your maidenhair fern for over 5 years – well done!

The long-term game of enjoying houseplants involves understanding the growth habit of the plant (the shape the plant will take in the long run) and knowing when/how to propagate.  In your case, the main stem (or technically, this is a rhizome that has grown into the shape of a stem) of the plant has become too tall for its current setup.  You have a few options: A) take a top cutting and start a new plant and/or B) chop the top and wait for new growth at the base (which is already rooted).

For a top cutting, use a clean, sharp knife and cut the stem so your cutting includes a few leaflets:

Place this cutting into a propagation box lined with sphagnum moss (any box that can be sealed and has a clear lid to allow light in will work as long as it fits the cutting – many people use plastic food take-out containers).

The cutting should not be exposed to direct sun; 100-200 FC indirect light or grow light is sufficient.  The lid should always be closed but you should occasionally check on the moss to ensure that it is always lightly moist – mist it if you feel it getting dry.

There may be a few leaflets dying off here and there in the first few weeks but the goal is just to get the rhizome to produce new roots into the sphagnum moss – it will take several weeks.

In the meantime, the base of the main plant should continue sprouting new fronds.

Cutting your plant back means that, for several weeks (maybe even months), your plant will look a little less presentable but continue with good care/growing conditions and it will grow back even nicer!

Good luck!

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