Fern help please

madmama · Post by **madmama** » May 12, 2006 11:17 am

We expanded our hosta bed last fall and are in the process of moving hostas right now. Well that is when we can get out there between the rain showers. I really want to add a few more ferns but I really don’t know much about them except that I like them. I have a few and don’t know the names of most of them. I do know that I like the ones that behave themselves better then the ones that come up in the middle of my hostas. Christmas Fern is the one I am having the most trouble with right now, at least I think that is what it is. I also have 2 more that do that and I think one is an Ostrich Fern. But it’s not real happy with the spot it’s in so I’m not having too much trouble with it. Now I plan on getting my ferns from Chris of course and I was looking at them and just got confused. Could someone please help me decide on which ones would be best. I promise to learn more about them as I get them. Thanks!

insam · Post by **insam** » May 13, 2006 11:50 pm

Jane,

Could you describe the area where they are grown so we can get a better idea of the situation? Christmas ferns are some of the toughest and easiest to grow, but not all ferns do well in the same conditions.

Mary Ann · Post by **Mary Ann** » May 14, 2006 12:35 am

I'd like to know more about ferns too. Three years ago, I was enthralled with them and picked up more wherever I shopped. I also transplanted bunches from the woods of northern Michigan. They all died or so I thought. This year they're coming up in the most unexpected places. . .all of them!

and

If a plant looks dead, give it a year or two.

viktoria · Post by **viktoria** » May 14, 2006 5:58 am

I find Christmas Fern not troublesome at all, so I wonder if yours is mis-IDd. Ostrich Fern is horrendously invasive and best placed where you do not intend to grow anything else. In a dry location it may behave itself for a few years, but then WATCH OUT!

Maidenhair Fern and Broad Beech Fern are of more modest stature and manageable; both spread so do not combine them with your smallest hostas. The Wood Ferns (Dryopteris sp.) are attractive, medium-sized ones. Japanese Painted Fern, a non-native, is very manageable.

Ferns to avoid, other than the previously mentioned Ostrich Fern: Hay-Scented Fern, Cinnamon Fern, Interrupted Fern, Sensitive Fern...and there is one more, but it is too early in the morning and I have not yet had enough coffee...

madmama · Post by **madmama** » May 14, 2006 8:58 am

Thanks so much for your responses. Hi Viktoria, nice to see you.
Ok, I’m not real good at this, but I’ll do my best.
The area in question is kind of large and the shade really differs. The entire area is on a very slight slope so it does not stay real wet all the time. Except for right now as it does not seem to want to stop raining. One section pretty well only gets early morning sun and that is also the area that stays the wettest. Then I have a section that receives about 2 hours of midday sun, another area that gets evening sun only and one little area that gets only sun in the spring. After that it’s shade all day. I am very good at watering, just ask my DH about our summer water bill. One of the shade trees is a dreaded Silver Maple so tree roots are a problem in one area. The other trees in the garden area are a VERY large White Oak, a Mimosa, and two small Honey Locust that we just planted last year to help with the 2 hours of afternoon sun. The soil is pretty good as I did a lasagna bed over the entire area. Lots of worms and unfortunately a mole I am desperately trying to get rid of. I want to mulch but I don’t know what would be best to use so the area is not mulched yet.

I found a paper that has a few ferns that I got and one is an Interrupted Fern. Now I think I know which one that is and it is doing the same thing that the fern that I thought was the Christmas Fern is doing. In fact they look similar, except the Christmas Fern gets larger. They both remind me of my Ostrich Fern. They are coming up all over the place. I also had a Sensitive Fern that started taking over the world, but I got rid of that. I have a Japanese Painted Fern and a Ghost Fern and I really like them and the way they grow.

Any help or advice would be really appreciated here. I don’t need any more of the take over the world ferns in my garden. I’m having enough trouble with the ones I already have.

Thanks!!!!

Post by **Chris_W** » May 14, 2006 9:38 am

I really like the Christmas Ferns, and have never had a spreading problem with them so I would also wonder if they were mislabeled when you bought them Jane.

Our most aggressive spreaders are Sensitive ferns and Ostrich ferns although the Sensitive ferns, I think, are easier to control in the average garden.

I have never had Cinnamon Ferns or Interrupted Ferns grow invasively. Why don't you recommend those Viktoria?

The Athyrium and Dryopteris are well behaved and are relatively drought tolerant. I would still avoid the silver maple though, and just try to plant some kind of ground cover there.

Old earth dog · Post by **Old earth dog** » May 14, 2006 10:09 am

Also no problems with my Cinnamon fern.
Sensitive fern is the worst, in my garden, but as Chris commented, easy to control.

viktoria · Post by **viktoria** » May 15, 2006 7:16 am

Chris, when well grown, those two ferns can also get far larger than most gardeners would expect or wish. I am not all that certain, either, that they won't spread: my ostrich fern didn't (I planted it in a dry spot) ntil we put in the irrigation pond and I started watering more.

madmama · Post by **madmama** » Jul 13, 2006 10:28 pm

Just wanted to let you all know that I have identified my take over the world fern. I thought I was dealing with a couple of similar ferns, but after much research and the arrival of the fertile fronds on all of them at the same time I am pretty sure they are all Ostrich Ferns. Now all I have to do is figure out how to get rid of all of them. And let me tell you I have a lot more this year then I did last. I will not be planting any more of these things in my hosta bed.