Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum

Specific Families and Genera => Ferns => Topic started by: shelagh on July 08, 2017, 02:40:20 PM

Title: Ferns 2017
Post by: shelagh on July 08, 2017, 02:40:20 PM
I am going to make a daring suggestion.  There are sections on the Forum for all sorts of interest groups but there isn't one for Ferns.  Surely Brian and I are not alone in our love of Ferns. So I am hoping this catches on.

Here are a selection from our garden and also the ones in pots we use on the show bench.

Asplenium trichomanes a British native.

Blachnum penna marina one without and one with sporing fronds.

Blechnum spicant another British native and Cryptogramma crispa the Parsley fern with both sporing and non sporing fronds.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: shelagh on July 08, 2017, 02:46:16 PM
The Japanese painted fern, Athyrium niponicum var. pictum really stands out amongst the green.

Pellea rotundifolia often comes in baskets of  mixed plants and the judges didn't seem to think it was hardy but it has survived many winters at the bottom of the garden.

Polystichum lemmoni is one of several of our ferns I have grown from spores it is a diminiative specimen from the U.S.A.

Polystichum setiferum divislobum plumosum is another beauty.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: shelagh on July 08, 2017, 02:49:17 PM
Lastly, for today at least a particular favourite of Brian's. Another one grown from spores Pteris gallinopes, it comes from Limestone caves in China.  the second picture shows how it is beginning to split at the ends which will make it even more attractive.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Maggi Young on July 08, 2017, 05:11:01 PM
Fair enough , Shelagh, I'll ask Fred to oblige with a Fern Section - mind you, most fern threads  that have appeared in the forum have  been ID queries  so the level of knowledge may not be great!  We'll hope for the best!   When Fred has made the section I'll move a few threads into it. to get it started.
 Cheers,
 M 
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Maggi Young on July 08, 2017, 06:21:01 PM
Fearlessly Fast Fred has been at work - we're in business with a fern section!
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: shelagh on July 09, 2017, 12:27:21 PM
Thank you Maggi and Fred.  We shall see just how many Pteridologists we have ;)
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: annew on July 09, 2017, 08:31:42 PM
That Polystichum lemmonii is superb, a difficult and super rare plant that as usual was completely ignored by show judges last year. Well done Shelagh!
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: annew on July 09, 2017, 08:32:42 PM
I'll try and remember to take some pics of our ferns tomorrow. Make a break from doing stuff with bulbs and spreadsheets!
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: fredg on July 12, 2017, 08:56:48 AM
A few of my ferns. ;D

[attachimg=1]

Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: shelagh on July 12, 2017, 09:36:27 AM
Looks like the perfect spot Fred.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Maggi Young on July 12, 2017, 12:00:00 PM
from Tim Ingram


There is a really interesting and updated article by Jennifer Deegan in the Pteridologist (2017, Vol. 6, Part 4). The intricate, and electronic, detail of photographing fern gametophytes using digital 'focus stacking'......

http://theitinerantbotanist.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/ (http://theitinerantbotanist.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/)
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: annew on July 12, 2017, 12:16:40 PM
That was an interesting article, also the one about the fern weevil that has been plaguing people's polypodium collections.
Here are some of our ferns:
Apleniums on the shady cliff of my mini-crevice bed
[attach=1]
A finely divided lady fern, Athyrium filix-femina Divaricatum
[attach=2]
A patch of beech fern asking for a drink! Phegopteris connectilis
[attach=3]
A favourite lacy Polystichum setiferum
[attach=4]
Contrasting foliage of Athyrium nipponicum 'Silver Falls' and Asplenium scolopendrium crispum Nobile ) another great article on the wavy 'scollies' in the same issue.
[attach=5]


Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: annew on July 12, 2017, 12:20:35 PM
A few more:
Two very old cultivars of the lady fern. Athyrium filix-femina Frizelliae and Victoriae
[attach=1]

[attach=2]
The oak fern. Gymnocarpium dryopteris
[attach=3]
A beautiful and easy fern for the garden. Adiantum venustum (Foreground)
[attach=4]
The Rusty Back fern, on of the few ferns to survive being built into the wall of my new raised daffy bed (named HS2 because of the railway ballast anti-cat top dressing)
[attach=5]



Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: shelagh on July 12, 2017, 09:53:22 PM
Anne your first pic shows what I have always known as the tatting fern.  Trouble is you either know the botanical name or the common name and can't always put the two together.

Lovely pics though.

Will the Pterodactyls have a stand at Tatton because I would like to get some more spores?  Sorry we always call them the Pterodactyls :-[
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Stan da Prato on July 13, 2017, 07:45:41 AM
Some snaps of the fernery  we -NBIB - have created in North Berwick's public park as an extension to  the rockery . Over 20 types most forms  of British  natives. Male fern D filix mas and two  of its forms: Crispa Congesta and Linearis Polydactyla
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Stan da Prato on July 13, 2017, 07:58:45 AM
Dryopteriis  affinis the scaley or golden male fern  is a British  native-the form Cristata The King is popular. It can make a striking pot plant The form Crispa Congesta -here in a pot- is much  less vigorous  and rather brittle. D wallichiana is a nice fern but Asiatic so not native here.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Stan da Prato on July 13, 2017, 08:07:21 AM
The lady fern and its forms  Frizelliae - the Irish tatting (embroidery ) and Victoriae - Victoria's- ferns have been mentioned already  by other contributors. Frizelliae is particularly  prone to reverting to type.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: shelagh on July 13, 2017, 11:47:37 AM
Wonderful Stan and very helpful for identification purposes.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Stan da Prato on July 13, 2017, 12:35:00 PM
if only I was ......
The non native shuttlecock (Matteucia struthiopteris) fern is said  to like moist conditions but we have it growing  very vigorously  in a low rainfall area -it probably  has its roots well down by now. it has killed off all the daffodils that were  in its bed when we planted it out. It can look  more interesting  earlier in the season when the new fronds really do look like shuttlecocks. I always  think  of it as the ostrich plume from its Latin specific  name as the fronds  are a bit like  the feathers that used to be popular head gear for upper class females.
The holly fern Cyrtomium falcatum  is not a native either but provides a nice contrast
The native royal  fern Osmunda regalis  certainly  likes it wet which  may be why these are a bit small. It used to be a main source  of orchid compost.

Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Stan da Prato on July 13, 2017, 12:45:02 PM
a very small Blechnum B penna-marina and a much bigger one B chilense the latter  a gift  from SRGC friends in Ayr. Thre are several non  native but hardy Adiantums starting  with A pedatum imbricatum then A venustum, then the  smaller A aleuticum subpumilum
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Leena on July 14, 2017, 07:02:16 AM
I am also a fan of ferns, thank you for the photos. :)
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Maggi Young on July 14, 2017, 10:56:07 AM
Just changing the title of this thread, which began as "A Daring Suggestion" to start a fern section  ;D
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: shelagh on July 14, 2017, 11:25:10 AM
Thanks Maggi. :D Judging by the number of views it seems to have taken off.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Maggi Young on July 14, 2017, 12:00:51 PM
Thank YOU for the suggestion , Shelagh - interactivity is the game, after all. (And I may even stand a chance of learning the names of my ferns, which I have traditionally had a lot of bother with !)
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Leena on July 14, 2017, 01:00:11 PM
Thanks Maggi. :D Judging by the number of views it seems to have taken off.

I have taken pictures of my ferns during the summer, I will post them later in the autumn or winter when there is more time.
One good thing about ferns is also that deer or rabbits don't eat them!
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Maggi Young on July 14, 2017, 01:06:56 PM

One good thing about ferns is also that deer or rabbits don't eat them!

Good point, Leena - important to know that.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: fredg on July 14, 2017, 05:11:40 PM
A few of mine I haven't seen mentioned yet.

Arachniodes simplicior 'Variegata'. It's hardy but not entirely happy in the Fernery.

[attachimg=1]

Coniogramme japonica flavo-maculata. The bamboo fern. The newly emerged croziers are greeted by the slugs and snails as delicacies. It takes me an extra couple of months to get good growth. Hopefully the beer traps I have out and electric fencing will help in future.

[attachimg=3]


Cyrtomium fortunei. Hardy and very happy in the fernery. I have the plants in three places and they grow well in each.

[attachimg=2]
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: fredg on July 14, 2017, 05:18:25 PM
Doodia media. I bought this as a hardy fern. My answer to that is it's hardy until there's a frost. A nicely coloured fern but I'd say in our climate it needs pot culture.

[attachimg=1]

Dryopteris sieboldi. This one provides a complete contrast to most other ferns.

[attachimg=2]
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: fredg on July 23, 2017, 12:15:11 PM
This threatened fern species, Pilularia globulifera is reputedly fussy about its lighting and companion plants but for me it romps through live sphagnum and appears to be just as happy romping through the water trays. The latter is the preferred method for me as down there it doesn't contaminate pots and trays of more delicate plants.

[attach=1]    [attach=2]
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: shelagh on July 24, 2017, 11:07:47 AM
Hmmm don't know that one Fred.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: fredg on July 24, 2017, 07:08:15 PM
You do now Shelagh  ;D

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Pilularia_globulifera_-_Thom%C3%A9.jpg)
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: ChrisB on August 02, 2017, 09:59:40 PM
I saw this Fern in several gardens during the Czech Conference garden visits. Can anyone please identify it?
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: fermi de Sousa on August 03, 2017, 06:53:56 AM
Maybe Asplenium ceterach, Rustyback fern. Synonym, Ceterach officinarum?
cheers
fermi
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: sokol on August 03, 2017, 07:16:09 AM
Yes, I would confirm that.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: ChrisB on August 03, 2017, 08:14:37 AM
Thank you both, going to a fern nursery this weekend, want to try to get one!
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: shelagh on August 03, 2017, 09:15:43 AM
You will probably find one growing out of old mortar, there are dozens on an old railway bridge not far from us.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: ChrisB on August 03, 2017, 03:37:54 PM
Hmmmm but would it grow if I could find one that way Shelagh?  They do say they grow best in a wall, but they were looking good in gardens over there.  Wonder if it's the same one, my recollection is of silvery rather than bronze/brown reverse.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Maggi Young on August 03, 2017, 04:18:57 PM
Ian's Bulb Log looks at a garden without flowers this week....

http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2017Aug021501665440BULB_LOG_3117.pdf (http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2017Aug021501665440BULB_LOG_3117.pdf)

[attachimg=1]

Phegopteris connectilis has already been  discussed as being Cystopteris fragilis  ;)
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Tony Willis on August 03, 2017, 04:41:44 PM
In the redwoods Oregon
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Hoy on August 04, 2017, 09:26:20 AM
Ferns are interesting! I have quite a few in my garden as slugs seem to avoid them :-\

Here are some in their natural habitats:


Cryptogramma crispa in the shade of Athyrium distentifolium. Usually the Cryptogramma prefers more sun.

[attachimg=1]


Athyrium distentifolium

[attachimg=2]


Polystichum lonchitis

[attachimg=3]


A bad picture but it shows the typical habitat for Gymnocarpium dryopteris

[attachimg=4]


Not exactly a fern. Diphasiastrum complanatum ssp complanatum

[attachimg=5]
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Hoy on August 04, 2017, 09:48:14 AM
Ian's Bulb Log looks at a garden without flowers this week....
......

Maggi, you and Ian certainly have a lot of desirable weeds! And I mean both ferns and other plants  :)
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Maggi Young on August 04, 2017, 12:34:17 PM
Maggi, you and Ian certainly have a lot of desirable weeds! And I mean both ferns and other plants  :)
As time goes on, Trond, I think the whole garden will be full of "volunteer" plants  - it suits us.  There comes a time when we just wants plants which can PROVE they want to live with us!
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: ian mcdonald on August 04, 2017, 10:20:24 PM
I also have some native ferns in the garden. Rusty back, maidenhair spleenwort, holly fern, mountain fern, oak fern, beech fern, hard shield fern, soft shield fern, marsh fern, royal fern, parsley fern, common polypody, hard fern, crested buckler, scaly male fern, green spleenwort and hay scented buckler. The habitats in my garden are not the usual ones for the species but they don,t seem to mind.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Rick R. on August 05, 2017, 09:01:29 PM
What's wrong with this picture?

[attachimg=1]
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Rick R. on August 09, 2017, 04:30:03 PM
The above pic is upside down!

Pellaea glabella
[attachimg=1]

This particular wild colony lives under a limestone overhang in a prairie here in Minnesota.

[attachimg=2]

[attachimg=3]

[attachimg=4]
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: shelagh on August 11, 2017, 02:09:10 PM
Fascinating Rick, and lovely to see exactly where it lives.  I wonder where the next nearest colony is?
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: ChrisB on August 11, 2017, 07:54:37 PM
I got three new ferns this year. The one on the tophad the label athryum felix femina Dres Dagger, the middle one had a label of triple crown and the one on the bottom has no name at all.  If anyone has views on what these are I would be grateful
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Rick R. on August 12, 2017, 03:18:41 AM
Fascinating Rick, and lovely to see exactly where it lives.  I wonder where the next nearest colony is?

Kenton Seth (from Colorado,USA) was here on a very cold March 17th day, and I took him out to see some the wild areas here.  This is him examining the same rock. Arrows point out a few of the plants, since they are dried up and brown for the winter.  This is the only place that I have seen (so far) where the fern grows with no visible rock fissures.
[attachimg=1]

Technically, the nearest ferns are on the next hill over, on a vertical rock face.  The first rock is west facing.  This one is east facing.
[attachimg=2]

But I think the next place is about 30 miles away, again on a clean rock face of a gorge cut by what was once a raging river (now a creek).  This is the same kind of limestone, sort of like tufa: very hard, yet more porous than a limestone that is quarried.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Leucogenes on August 12, 2017, 06:33:41 AM
I like this fern particularly... then he gets over the deepest frost and the biggest heat. Cheilanthes fendleri from Arizona. He stands with me in the full sun and is absolutely resistant to heat and dryness. And the new desires show nice strong hairs.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: shelagh on August 12, 2017, 02:07:36 PM
It looks terrific. I've never had much luck with Cheilanthes, grown several from spores but they don't thrive. You obviously have the touch.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Giles on August 12, 2017, 07:51:27 PM
Asplenium trichomanes and Asplenium scolopendrium: both growing on my house.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: shelagh on August 13, 2017, 04:00:32 PM
Giles when I park up to collect the grandchildren from school both those ferns are growing happily in the school walls along with Ruta-maria.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Giles on August 13, 2017, 07:32:25 PM
Shelagh,
I've only seen Asplenium ruta-muraria on brickwork, locally, but I keep on hoping...
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: annew on August 14, 2017, 08:07:28 PM
I got three new ferns this year. The one on the tophad the label athryum felix femina Dres Dagger, the middle one had a label of triple crown and the one on the bottom has no name at all.  If anyone has views on what these are I would be grateful
Hi Chris, they look like variants of Athyrium filix-femina 'Victoriae', spores raised from this variety give forms such as these.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: ChrisB on August 16, 2017, 05:19:36 PM
Thanks Anne!
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Robert on August 30, 2017, 12:49:04 PM
[attachimg=1]

Cryptogramma cascadensis, Cascade Parsley Fern.

Does anyone cultivate this species?

This species has a considerable range in the western U.S.A. however it seems somewhat unknown. I am curious as to its cultivation status.
Title: Re: Ferns 2017
Post by: Ali Baba on September 21, 2017, 06:00:29 PM
(Attachment Link)

Cryptogramma cascadensis, Cascade Parsley Fern.

Does anyone cultivate this species?

This species has a considerable range in the western U.S.A. however it seems somewhat unknown. I am curious as to its cultivation status.

Possibly not very easy to grow, Cryptogamma crispa in the UK is reputedly very hard to cultivate thaough it grows like a weed on the slate spoil heaps in north Wales, as well as its natural sree habitat.
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