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Ferns For The Shade Garden - Part I

© Marge Talt

No shady garden is complete without some of these most ancient of plants. Ferns are found all over the world in just about every type of climate and growing condition. They've been around for hundreds of millions of years. At one time, they were the dominant plant on the planet. They range in size from tiny little ferns like Polypodium virginianum (Rock Cap Fern), which may be only four inches (10 cm) tall to huge tree ferns like Dicksonia Antarctica, which can be over six feet (2 meters) tall.

Many of the non-hardy species are grown as houseplants. Although I do have a few that suffer in my house over winter and recover outside in summer, my main interest is in those ferns hardy in temperate climates.

For texture, form and interest, you can't beat ferns. I love watching them unfold their croziers in spring and enjoy the range of texture they provide all season. Most are very undemanding plants. Site them properly; give them decent soil with a good dollop of organic material and don't let them dry out. They will reward you throughout the growing season.

All gardeners are familiar with the terms 'leaf', 'stem' and 'seed'. Fern terminology is a bit different. The stem on a fern is called the caudex; the leaf is called a frond and includes the stipe or leaf stalk and the blade which is the expanded portion of a frond. Ferns don't make seeds, instead, they produce spores; minute, usually unicellular, asexual reproductive bodies. For some basic biology on ferns and their life cycle visit this page on The American Fern Society's web site.

More than 100 years old,The American Fern Society is one of the largest International fern clubs in the world. The site provides information about ferns; the spore exchange program; how to join the society and links to other fern sites on the web. You can also sign up for the Fernet mailing list. It used to be called Pteridonet. Topics include ferns and fern allies. If you are interested in growing ferns and learning more about them, the experts on this list can help you.

HARDY FERNS

Of the many ferns that can be grown in the temperate garden, I grow and love the following in my USDA zone 7 garden: I actually have a couple more that I have yet to identify properly and lust after many more. You can't have too many ferns, in my view. Other than cleaning out the dead fronds in early spring before the new ones start to emerge and making sure they do not dry out in summer, these ferns requires absolutely no care, feeding or futzing with.

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