We love ferns of all types, but especially the single-leaf types. Our clump of the Chinese Lepisorus macrosphaerus really stands out in the fall and winter garden. In the wild, most lepisorus grow on rocks or tree trunks, but most we’ve grown have adapted well to growing in the soil. They tend to thrive better
One of our favorite of the US native (Central Texas) desert ferns is Pellaea ovata. Here is our clump in the crevice garden looking quite nice this week. This is scheduled to return to the Plant Delights catalog in January. Hardiness should be at least Zone 7b and south.
Looking superb this week is our great native fern, Thelypteris kunthii (southern shield fern) So what is a kunth? In fact, this fern gets its name from German taxonomist, Carl Sigismund Kunth (1788 – 1850). Kunth was one of the first people to categorize North American plants, mostly from the collections of German botanists, Humboldt and
Who put the Kunth in Kunthii? Read More »
Cyrtomium macrophyllum is looking particularly fabulous this year. This is a little-grown holly fern with a wide range from India to Southeastern China that can be found at elevations from 2,500-8,000′. The bold textured fronds arch outward to make a 2′ tall x 2′ wide clump that is semi-evergreen in most winters. It seems as
Holy Giant Holly Fern Read More »
We live in an age where many plastic products are vilified, but every now and then, we find a reason to embrace the texture of plastic. Such was the case in 2008, when we visited The Missouri Botanic Garden. Walking through one of their greenhouse, I spotted an odd holly fern, planted in the middle
Celebrate Plasticity Read More »
Arachnioides standishii is one of our favorite garden ferns. This particular collection comes from Japan’s Mt. Daisen. The common name is Upside down fern since the leaves appear to be attached inverted. Production is always challenging since spore don’t ripen until after Christmas. The foliage remains evergreen until temps drop below 10 degrees F. Hardiness
Upside down Spider Fern Read More »
I just took this photo of the Ghost fern on our patio…can’t imagine a garden without this lovely deer-resistant perennial. Light shade or even a few hours of sun if the soil is kept moist.
Athyrium ‘Ghost’ fern Read More »
Here are a couple of fern images from the garden yesterday. First is our giant painted fern, Athyrium ‘Godzilla’, which can reach 6′ wide x 3′ tall. To avoid chlorophyll shed in the garden, it’s best planted a far distance from Hosta ‘Mothra’ or Hosta ‘Rhodan’. Here is the lovely Athyrium nipponicum ‘Burgandy Lace‘..hard to
Painted ferns for the garden Read More »
For 2015, Plant Delights is pleased to introduce several new ferns from our trial program. Athyrium niponicum ‘Thrill Seeker’ is one of two dwarf compact crested Japanese painted fern selections from a five year joint effort between us and our friend Hans Hansen of Walters Gardens. The second of these crested selections is Athyrium ‘Joy
New Ferns for 2015 Read More »
