Ferns

[McDonough]

It seems hard to believe that I'm starting a fern thread; I'm a total fern newbie!  I love ferns, it's just that I know almost nothing about them, and until the last few years with some trees gaining size and shading effect, my sun-scorched hillside location was not very fern-friendly.

When I extended my deck, I wondered if ferns could be grown at the foot of the east-facing deck, getting full sun all morning but shaded from early afternoon and after. I worried because from 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM, it still gets blazing hot there.  So I chose two ferns as guinea pigs, a hopeful guess on my part that ferns could survive this particular man-made position with only partial shade, but most importantly, shaded from the hottest afternoon sun.  In 4 years hence, it seems to have worked out rather well; I'm prepared to put more ferns in a "decks edge fern row".

The two ferns chosen were Athyrium filix-femina 'Lady in Red', a showy selection from the New England Wildflower Society, and Dryopteris filix-mas 'Grandiceps Wills', a Male Fern selection with small pinnae crests and larger terminal crests.  Both have done very well, although 'Lady in Red' can show some frond burn in the hottest weather... in fact I'm showing a photo of some burn, taken recently after a few days approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit, but it's really minimal and does not seem to harm the overall vigor and beauty of the fern.

Please tell me about your favorite shade-loving ferns!  And someone, please start a thread on sun-loving or xeric ferns.

[Hoy]

At home some ferns are weeds seeding themselves in seedpots and everywhere. Still I like ferns and have planted quite a few but have almost no pictures of them!
Here is one from last spring showing the croziers of emerging Dryopteris affinis.
'Lady in Red' looks fine!

[McDonough]

At home some ferns are weeds seeding themselves in seedpots and everywhere. Still I like ferns and have planted quite a few but have almost no pictures of them!
Here is one from last spring showing the croziers of emerging Dryopteris affinis.

How big does D. affinis get (width and height), and does it spread?  I'm looking for ferns that make clumps rather than spread, some ferns can be aggressive spreaders.

[Hoy]

Mark, D. affinis a native here but it does not spread much neither by spores or otherways. Others like D. carthusiana, dilatata and expansa are worse. And Athyrium filix-femina is worst!

D. affinis get about 1m tall when the conditions are right and about the same width. It is a very nice fern. (Can't show pics until I get home.)

[Nold]

There are quite a few ferns that will probably take full sun in eastern North America. (They won't here, unless they have constant moisture.) Any of the rock ferns, Pellaea, Cheilanthes, etc., would be good choices.
The problem is that the market for xerophytic ferns is non-existent, which is perfectly understandable, so you would have to grow these from spores.

[Harold Peachey]

On a local woods walk yesterday

Asplenium scolopendrium var. americanum

[Harold Peachey]

Asplenium rhizophyllum

[Hoy]

Asplenium scolopendrium is native where I live but I have never seen them in the wild! But I grow some in my garden. Nice to see a close relative in such an abundance! A. rhizophyllum looks interesting too.

[Harold Peachey]

Trond,
 These pictures were taken at a Clark Reservation http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/126/details.aspx near Syracuse, NY, USA.  The Hart's Tongue grow on the north facing slopes of glacial potholes, growing only on directly north facing slopes, disappearing with only a degree or two variance.  A. scolopendrium v. americanum is listed as rare, locally abundant.  I am fortunate to live in a geologically interesting region that is home to many interesting plant communities.  Interestingly, the European Hart's Tongue A. scolopendrium is tetraploid while the american variety is diploid

[McDonough]

I just posted a newsy item about NARGS member Tom Stuart and an article about ferns he is interviewed in. See it here:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=602.0

I also learned that Tom Stuart is proprietor of the Hardy Fern Library, an online taxonomical guide.  This is a must-visit site, a one-stop destination for any fern lover!
http://hardyfernlibrary.com/ferns/

[Todd Boland]

Thanks for the link to Stuart's site Mark.

I have about 30 ferns in my yard with more ordered.  I have grow many from spores so I have a few weird unnamed forms.  Dryopteris affinis is one the largest and most impressive ferns in my collection.  They easily reach 1 m and spread a little more, but it is a definite clumper.  You'll love it Mark.  Excellent choice.  Dryopteris goldiana and Polystichum braunii are also large, clumping ferns that are highly recommended.

[Tim Ingram]

Mark, I'm amazed how lush the ferns look next to your deck - there must be quite a bit of moisture down below. The 'Lady Fern', which is so beautiful, struggles in our dry summers and I can only grow it on the north side of a greenhouse where it gets run off from the rain. However, all the forms of Polystichum do really well, coping with drought pretty well, as do quite a few Dryopteris. But they don't approach the wonderful vigour of your plants. Woodwardia unigemmate, one of the chain ferns, coped surprisingly well with a long dry summer spell a couple of years ago - I had expected it to suffer badly. It could make a magnificent specimen under your conditions, and some selections have marvellous red new growth. It roots down at the tips of the long(!) fronds and spreads over quite an area this way.

I too am fascinated by the more xeric species, but generally they are grown as show plants in pots in the UK, even though at least some should be able to grow in the garden given winter protection. Sue Olsen's book is superb and makes you realise just how diverse ferns are. They do seem to be being grown more in gardens here, which is good news, and they are fun to raise from spores (and in my very limited experience the xeric Cheilanthes are relatively easy to raise in this way, probably tolerating drier conditions better than some).

[cohan]

I love ferns, though they are uncommon locally ( at least on our property, don't get into woods on other folks property much, and they are not roadside plants!).. I know of exactly two spots they occur on the family farm ( two very different species, neither of which I know to name) and one spot on my acreage, which I assume is a native-my mother thought my aunt may have planted it, but I doubt she'd have planted such a little thing..
Besides that, I have two small pots with wild collections from the farm awaiting beds--one of the first tw mentioned above, a tiny thing from a wet dark place, also a Botrychium virginianum..
And in one ill-chosen bed I have a couple of potentially large ferns bought as loose rhizomes (? sold loose in a bin, one growing point each) a couple of years ago and planted in a spot I didn't realise was so dry... I prob should move them....(best time of year for that?)

I'll try to get pics of all of the above, I do have shots to edit of those in the bush....

I'm also really interested in small xeric ferns to grow indoors- viewing pictures of Echeveria and other Mexican/Central American succulents in habitat, I saw many small ferns growing with them--these are presumably semi-shaded rocky areas, dry in winter.. indoors I wqould grow them with my C+S.. no luck finding spores, so far though... Tim, you mentioned folks growing some in Britain, know of any sources or growers I could ask for spores? Looking for the smallest plants possible, 30cm tall would be a maximum, preferably much less..

[Hoy]

I'm also really interested in small xeric ferns to grow indoors- viewing pictures of Echeveria and other Mexican/Central American succulents in habitat, I saw many small ferns growing with them--these are presumably semi-shaded rocky areas, dry in winter.. indoors I wqould grow them with my C+S.. no luck finding spores, so far though... Tim, you mentioned folks growing some in Britain, know of any sources or growers I could ask for spores? Looking for the smallest plants possible, 30cm tall would be a maximum, preferably much less..

What about this one, Cohan? Asplenium septentrionale The Norwegian name is Olavsskjegg - beard of Olav (an ancient holy king btw).

[Tim Ingram]

Cohan, the British Pteridological Society has a superb spore list with many xeric species and I expect most growers who exhibit them are involved with the BPS. I have only grown a few Cheilanthes in the past and used to collect spores and put them in the seed exchanges. One of the finest sources in the UK is Rachel Lever of Aberconwy Nursery, but few others grow the smaller ferns.