DEL.ICIO.USMARTHA TATE
Gardeners favor ferns for their flexibility
For The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
In the past several years, I’ve noticed that gardeners are doing wonderful things with ferns. I’ve seen them in some stunning gardens and used in some unexpected ways — as foundation plants for a front porch (a wonderfully nostalgic look, especially for a rustic house), as a centerpiece in year-round container gardens and as subjects in shady rock gardens.
Eleanor Craig has known the value of ferns in the landscape for years. She says an epiphany came one day as she was working in lawn maintenance and was contemplating what to plant along the shady side of a client’s house in Atlanta.
“The homeowner wanted Japanese holly, but I knew that wouldn’t work in so much shade, ” says Craig, owner of Fern Ridge Farms, a specialty fern nursery. “I planted some holly ferns, and they turned out to be just the right solution. In fact, they’re still there.”
I caught up with Craig at her nursery in Canton, where she was able to put to rest some myths about ferns and answer questions about how to grow them successfully.
Q: Somehow I’ve always thought that ferns should only be planted in spring. Is this true?
A: It’s OK to plant them in the spring, but the ideal time to plant them is fall. They’re just like most other perennial plants. They like time to get their roots established so that when spring comes, they’re ready to take off.
Q: A friend who moved in May had two huge, lush cinnamon ferns. I offered to dig them and keep them for her until she finds a permanent place to live. I put plenty of compost into the soil and watered them religiously every day. They looked great for a while, and then one day I noticed several of the tall fronds had turned brown and shriveled. What went wrong?
A: They most likely went into shock, but they’ll come back. You should check to make sure that you planted the crown at or above soil level. If a fern is struggling, it could be that it’s planted too deep. Always make sure the crown is showing. If it’s too deep, it can rot. That’s one of the top two ways to kill a fern.
Q: What is the other way?
A: The No. 1 way you have the death of a fern is by too much water. Water is essential to get them established, and you need to keep them consistently moist and not let them dry out, but most ferns do not tolerate wet feet. The native royal fern and the sensitive fern can work in a moist situation, but most others like a well-drained site.
Q: My friend with the cinnamon fern gave me a Japanese painted fern to use in a talk I was giving. I came home and put the pot under a boxwood by my front door. Then, I forgot about it, and the drought of 2007 came. One day at the end of the summer, I looked down in horror at the dried up dirt. The fern was gone. Then, we started getting some rain, and lo and behold, the plant started putting out. Today, it’s in the ground and growing like crazy. What’s the deal?
A: We tend to lose patience and give up on ferns, but they don’t give up on us. They are very, very tough plants. If the plant dries out and then you see some fronds that don’t look good or that are broken, or if you have ones that are covered in ugly spores, cut them off. It won’t hurt the plant. It will put energy back into the fern so it can put up new growth.
Q: What about using cut fronds in flower arrangements? Sometimes I’ve had luck with this, and other times the fronds just shriveled up.
A: You don’t cut ferns like you would a flower, because the fronds don’t take up water that far up the stem. Reach down and detach it from the base with your fingernails. Then you’ll have it where water can be absorbed.
Q: When should you fertilize ferns?
A: You don’t. Be especially careful about heavy fertilizers like worm castings. Too much fertilizer can make ferns weaker.
Q: Can you name five ferns every Atlanta garden should have?
A: There are just too many good ones out there. The absolute top easiest fern to grow is the autumn fern. It is evergreen and gives you year-round beauty. I also love the texture of the lady ferns, and, of course, the cinnamon fern and the holly fern. I’m crazy about the bluish green color of the marginal wood fern. Then you’ve got the Southern shield fern that will grow in full sun or shade, and the native remote wood fern that is drought tolerant. The shaggy shield fern is underused, I think, and the northern maidenhair gives you that delicate look but is tough as it can be. No, I can’t name just five.
Martha Tate is a writer who lives in Atlanta.
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