In fall, when everyone is rushing to bring their fern baskets indoors when the weather forecast calls for frost, we can be focusing on other garden chores, because our fern baskets remain outside during the winter. That’s because, instead of selecting tropical ferns, we use epiphytic (that naturally grow on trees) ferns of the genus,
Winter Fern Baskets Read More »
We just snapped this photo of one of our more amazing fern introductions, Microsorum buergerianum ‘Datun’. This six year-old clump is from our 2008 spore collection of this fabulous mat forming, epiphytic fern from north of Taipei, Taiwan. Although the foliage burnt back at 11 degrees F, it re-flushed quickly the following spring. Hardiness Zone
Evergreen Fern Mat Read More »
In January, we posted photos of the Asian epiphytic fern, Neolepisorus fortunei ‘Green Ribbons’ growing in the ground, in our woodland garden. Here is another planting of it, growing as a lithophyte (on rocks) in our crevice garden. This six year old patch of ribbon fern shows that it doesn’t require soil to thrive. This
Throughout the years, we’ve failed with many plants, some, simply by not realizing that some plants have very specific habitat preferences. The vast majority of plants can grow equally as well in the same, well-amended soil, with a pH around 6.0-6.2. The Latin root is used to describe those with a more specific preference or
Plants that had rather Phyte than switch habits and habitats Read More »
One of my favorite plants when I strolled through the woods as a young child was resurrection fern, Pleopeltis michauxiana. If the Latin name sounds unfamiliar, it was originally published in 1939 as a member of a different fern genus, Polypodium polypodioides var. michauxiana. It’s natural distribution range is quite large, from West Virginia south
Time to bring back Resurrection Ferns Read More »
Just out in the garden in early January and wanted to share photos of a few of our favorite evergreen ferns that would rather not be growing in the ground. In our garden, these are all growing within a few feet of each other. Each of these ferns are epiphytes, which grow attached to a
Lithophytes, epiphytes, tigers, and bears…oh my Read More »
