| Issue #49, March 16, 2007 |
The Garden at Rock Cottage
Versatile Ferns
with Lance Brilliantine
As spring approaches and the air warms, the fiddle-shaped appearance of new fern fronds will appear in the moist undergrowth of trees and shady garden nooks. Ferns are one of the more useful garden plants with a beautiful appearance and lovely green color. This group of plants generally grows in moist, shady areas, but some varieties are tolerant of locations that get morning sun.
Ferns are a very ancient family of plants, with some of the earliest fossils pre-dating the Mesozoic era of some 360 million years ago. They are much older than land animals and far older than the dinosaurs. They thrived on Earth for two hundred million years before flowering plants ever evolved.
As we know them now, most ferns are leafy plants that grow in moist areas. They are "vascular plants" with well-developed internal vein structures that promote the flow of water and nutrients. Unlike the flowering plants and conifers, wherein the adult plant grows immediately from a seed, ferns reproduce from spores and an intermediate plant stage called a gametophyte.
There are about 20,000 species of plants classified in the phylum Pteridophyta, where ferns reside by classification. The study of ferns is called pteridology. The term pteridophytes has traditionally been used to describe all seedless vascular plants.
While ferns have the popular image of being suitable for moist and shady woodland areas, their habitats are far more complex. Like most plants, ferns can be found growing in a wide variety of places ranging from mountain elevations to dry desert rock faces, to bodies of water and open fields. Ferns in general may be thought of as being specialists for growing in marginal habitats, often succeeding in places where environmental limits reduce the success of flowering plants.
Some ferns are among the world's most serious weed species, such as the bracken that grows in the British highlands, or the mosquito fern that grows in tropical lakes. There are four habitats that are the key places where ferns grow: moist; shady forest coves; sheltered rock faces; acid bogs and swamps; and tropical trees (where many fern species are epiphytes).
Ferns that grow in pots have the same growth requirements. Site selection and location require good drainage and light exposure. Ferns require well-drained soil, and are ideal for the sandy/humus combination on the East End of Long Island. The soil should have good surface drainage. Heavier clay soils need to be amended with organic material to improve their aeration and drainage. Locating ferns in elevated beds works well because the elevation ensures good aeration.
Light intensity is an important factor in site selection for ferns. Ferns prefer, and, in some cases, require, indirect light to produce high-quality fronds. They are excellent plants for shady areas where other plants do not grow well. Locations that avoid direct exposure to afternoon sun are best to avoid any burning of the fronds. (However, some tropical ferns can tolerate direct sun.)
For outdoor locations, consider the following: Spleenwort (Asplenium) – a smaller, bright green fern to ten inches; Lady Fern (Athyricum) – to 24 inches; Japanese Painted Fern (Athyricum niponicum) – with colorful fronds to 18 inches; Wood Fern (Dryopteris) – popular, medium-sized to 36 inches; Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia) – large, to five feet; Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda) – to about 36 inches with cinnamon color new fronds; Christmas Fern (Polystrichum) – often evergreen to two feet; Japanese Marsh Fern (Thalypteris) – spreading to about two feet.
Indoor ferns to consider include: Birdsnest Fern (Asplenium nidus) – easy and can reach 24 inches in a humid room or greenhouse; Boston Fern (Nephrolepis) – with long fronds and light green foliage to three feet (great for hanging baskets); Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum) - fast-growing and requires high humidity/moisture; Rabbit's Foot Fern (Davallia) - excellent fern for hanging baskets as the furry, creeping rhizomes hang over the edge of a container; Staghorn Fern (Platycerium) – wide fronds that resemble an elk's antlers. This particular fern requires special growth conditions in moss or hanging from a wood slab.
Outdoor planted ferns can be divided every three or four years by separating the clumps, or by cutting off established runners. The best time for dividing ferns is after the first frost through November. This gives the transplants plenty of time to regenerate roots during the winter.
Ferns are one of the “must have” plants for every shady garden location. Keep an eye out for them this spring!
You can contact Lance Brilliantine with any questions or comments at GardenLance@yahoo.com.
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