Is there any hope of resurrecting this fern??

[MunsteadWood]

Obviously it's totally dried out. Didn't occur to me to water it over winter but clearly I should have done as now this is the result. Is it a lost cause or should I persevere with lots of watering? Or something else? The tiny hint of green in the centre of the plant makes me think it's possibly not completely dead, but I don't see any new shoots.

We didn't buy it, it's just one that self seeded in a relatives' garden, but still would rather not throw it out if there's hope as it was pretty last summer.

Yes that fern is not dead! They all looks like crusty brown dead stuff st the moment, my garden is covered in them.

Don’t over water it and it’ll resurrect itself in a few weeks time....

Oh brilliant, thank you! That's so reassuring - I thought I'd killed it. What should I do in the meantime? Cut off the dead stems? Carry on with watering (but not too much)? Anything else? Or will it just revive itself as the weather gets warmer?

If it's bone dry, then give it some water now, and cut the old straggly leaves off. Then wait. If you don't get much rain then make sure it doesn't dry out - terracotta pots are famous for doing that pretty quickly because they are porous.

Then, in a few weeks, watch in wonderment as the new leaves unfurl. They really are magical

That is a nice little "male fern" dryopteris affinis
that will look splendid by the end of May

Not dead. I would repot with some fresh compost and top dress, you can do that now, and give it some dappled shade if you can so that it's not prone to scorch, which the new growth doesn't like.

Update on the fern!

They're amazing aren't they ? I just love those uncurling fronds !

(And thanks for update )

So amazing @peridito. The fronds are unfurling so quickly I can almost watch it happening! Gorgeous.

The ferns unfurling is my absolute favourite thing in the garden. They’re so beautiful.