Brown spots on holly fern

Q: My bed of holly fern seems to have a problem. The leaves are green and healthy. The back side of the leaves have a lot of brown spots. They look like a fuzzy scale. Should I treat for it?

 A: Your holly fern is having sex so leave it alone. The brown bumps are the spore cases of the fern. They do not reproduce from seed but from spores. In a sense, these are the flowers of a fern.

 Q: What fertilizer do I buy to get trace elements for my hibiscus? What are trace elements?

 A: A nursery or feed store will sell fertilizers with trace or micro elements. Trace elements are zinc, boron, manganese and several other elements.