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, Pyrrosia. There are an array of fascinating leaf forms, including variegates, mostly selected by keen Japanese gardeners. We’re going into year six of our hanging basket trial with these amazing plants. So far, all seventeen cultivars we’ve grown this way have survived lows of 11 degrees F, with absolutely no protection. Although some fronds showed slight foliar damage during the coldest winter, they all recovered quickly in spring.
We grow them in wire baskets, lined with sphagnum moss, which we purchase pre-lined from AM Leonard. We have done no repotting on these in 5+ years. Pyrrosias are incredibly drought tolerant, and when they become too dry, the foliage shrivels to reduce water loss. Once water is available, the leaves rehydrate and seem no worse for wear, but if you have a way to water them regularly, they’re fine with that also, and will certainly grow faster. Based on our trials so far, Pyrrosia lingua baskets should be quite reliable from Zone 8a south, and if we ever have another Zone 7b winter, we expect they’ll be fine then also. Below is the cultivar Pyrrosia lingua ‘Futaba Shishi’ looking lovely in early January. So far, we’ve only had a low of 21 degrees F this winter.
This is the solution for those who want to grow staghorn.
Do the squirrels and birds shred the sphagnum moss like they do on the coconut coir? I’m considering burlap as a liner but unsure if roots will be able to penetrate, to grow through the bottom.
Our squirrels have shown no interest in our baskets.
Do you have an available list of the 17 cultivars that have survived 11 in your garden? I am north of you in south/central Va, zone 7b…maybe really still 7a😂😂
Here are the varieties we have in baskets that live outdoors.
Pyrrosia ‘Eboshi’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘Alabama Gold’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘cf.’ Giant DJHH 14107
Pyrrosia lingua ‘Corymbifera’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘Futaba Shishi’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘Hiryu’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘Kaeru Tei’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘Kei Kan’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘Limon’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘Nokogiri Ba’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘O Ba’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘O Kan’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘Obake’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘Ogon Nishiki’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘Tachiba Koryu’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘Tosa Daio’
Pyrrosia lingua ‘Yabane Fu’
Pyrrosia petiolosa ‘Taste of China’
Thank you🙂Already putting in my orders and hoping to visit at the next open house.
Excellent!
Do you use sphagnum as the growing medium also, or just as a lining for the baskets?
We haven’t tried spaghnum as the media. We use our typical pine bark-based potting soil as the media.