Anatomy of a Fern.
If asked to draw a picture of a perennial plant, most people would draw an upright stem above ground, held in place by roots in the ground, and with leaves developing along the stem. This is how we normally associate a plant.
Ferns are really no different, but we use slightly different language. The stem on a fern is called a rhizome, which is a horizontal underground stem, e.g. not a vertical above ground stem. Roots will appear and grow downwards all along this rhizome as it expands underground. Leaves, which in ferns are called fronds, will also grow all along this rhizome. Newly developing fronds appear as tight spirals which gradually grow and uncurl. In this stage we call them fiddle heads.
Propagating Ferns
As we have seen in past articles, many plants can be propagated by cutting a piece of a stem from the main plant and rooting the piece in soil or water. Reproductive tissue located at regular intervals along the stem is capable of producing roots, leaves, or flower stems depending on the hormonal balance. When a cutting is taken and the environmental conditions are right (moisture, warmth) the stem cutting will produce adventitious roots at these intervals.
We can propagate ferns in a similar manner, but instead of cutting a vertical upright stem we cut the horizontal underground stem, the rhizome, into sections. The leaves (fronds/fiddleheads) which appear above ground do not contain any meristem (reproductive) tissue and they can not be rooted. The rhizome must be used for this purpose. Since roots develop continuously along the rhizome we do not need to do anything special to "root" the plant. In this case, the propagation is called dividing and it is one of the easiest propagation methods available.
Fern rhizomes develop somewhat differently depending on the type of fern. Christmas ferns, for example, create a long thin rhizome with loose root net which is easily pulled apart (separated). Cinnamon ferns tend to develop small bulb like structures the size of a tangerine, which are however, still rhizomes. Other ferns can create very dense root stocks which must be severed with a saw. Whichever the type, you must make sure that each piece of rhizome was a number of growing points. These growing points are easier to see in the early spring when the small fiddleheads are just starting to develop. Leave at least 2-3 fiddleheads per division for a nice plant.
