Looking great in the worst of winter is the amazing native fern, Pleopeltis michauxiana. This epiphytic fern, which only grows on trees and rocks, can be found in the wild in woodlands from Ohio south to Florida, and west to Oklahoma. We used Liquid Nails construction adhesive to attach a tiny piece to this oak
Our hanging basket of the evergreen Pyrrosia lingua ‘Corymbifera’ is looking lovely as we head toward another fall season. This Japanese selection of the epiphytic tongue fern has excellent vigor, forming a dense clump either in a container or in the ground. This moss-lined basket is now six years old, and lives outdoors year round
Flat-top Cluster Fern Read More »
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 »
