In Praise of Ferns

Christmas Fern

Southern Lady Fern

Ferns have long held the attention of gardeners. There is a whole set of folklore about them. Over the years, I have tried my best to incorporate as many species as I can in my landscapes; not because they provide anything extra special for wildlife, but because they are both beautiful and utilitarian. As ground covers, they provide an understory that birds and other wildlife can hide under while foraging amongst the leaf litter. They help to keep the understory cooler and moister also.
Over the past few weeks, I have begun adding the ferns I've collected over the years. Few nurseries carry many of them. As spore-producing plants, they are more difficult to propagate than the flowering plants that produce seed. Therefore, I zealously guard the species I have been able to accumulate. A few of my favorites have recently been added to the fringes of my new created wetland in the backyard.
Over time, ferns tend to spread by their underground rhizomes. Some, like the invasive and non-native tuberous sword fern (Nephrolepis cordifolia) spread this way aggressively and should be avoided (or removed) at all costs, but even a few of the native species, like Virginia chain fern (Woodwardia virginica) do not play well with others. In a woodland setting where you might wish to form a solid understory of ferns, it might work well, but I've always preferred to have a diversity of species and the aggressive spreaders, native or not, do not fit my concept of a woodland garden.
My favorite ferns are those that are on the "delicate looking" side and don't spread aggressively. To this end, I have added four species to my new wetland, plus one that is attached to the large cypress log that frames the northern edge of the pond liner. Southern lady fern (Athyrium felix-femina) is one of my absolute favorites. Though I am a bit south of its natural range, I have grown this species for nearly a decade now - both at my former Pinellas County home and now in Holiday. I have killed several that were not kept moist enough, but those inside the actual wetland itself have fared well. I moved the three I had growing in my former home and they are just now re-emerging here.
I've also added two Christmas ferns (Polystichum acrostichoides) that were recently purchased for me at a north Florida native plant nursery by a friend. I have failed previously trying to grow this fern in soil that was obviously too dry. It is a woodland fern, but at my latitude, it responds best to the moister soil I have added it to. Christmas fern is also a north Florida species that almost makes it to my latitude. Its evergreen nature in the presence of freezing winter temperatures gives it its common name, but it tends to shed its old fronds in spring about the same time it puts out its new ones.
Friends know what makes me most happy - the gift of unusual plants, and a friend gifted me a rather rare fern last summer. I've been keeping it in a pot until yesterday, waiting for my move and a place it would fair well in.

Hammock Fern

This prize is hammock fern (Blechnum occidentale var. minor) a state-endangered species that has been vouchered in my region of Florida. This somewhat diminutive species occurs in lime rock sinkholes, so I'll see how it does now that I've released it from its pot.
I've added rhizomes of the southern maidenhair fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris) that I removed from a large colony that I had growing at my former home in Seminole. So far, they are doing well and tiny fiddleheads are now popping up out of the wet soil. There are few ferns more dainty and interesting than maidenhair ferns so I am hopeful that these will like their new home as well as they did in their previous one.
The resurrection fern (Pleopeltis polypodioides) that now covers the surface of my cypress log has been with me now for a dozen years. I love the way it grows and it has spread over the years to other logs and surfaces in my former landscape.

Eventually, I plan to also add the two strap ferns (Campyloneuron phyllitidis) that I once rescued from a development project. Right now, I am waiting for them to recover from the move to my new home. I had to dig them up from the woodland setting I had them in and they are just now showing new growth in the pots I transferred them to. I am close to the northern edge of their geographic range in Florida, but they have been vouchered from the county north of me. I have an expectation that they will eventually prosper in my new setting.
Too often, in my opinion, we focus our landscaping efforts on the flowering plants and on some of the gymnosperms - conifers and cycads. A truly living landscape should include as much diversity as possible and that means adding some of the more-primitive spore-producing plants as well. I will likely add other fern species to my woodland, once the trees and shrubs are planted, but that is a post for another day.