Shade Gardening: Who is beginning to take serious looks at the catalogs now?, 1 by wallaby1

wallaby1 wrote:
Well it does give you all something to get excited about, doesn't it??? I have a Japanese painted fern, it hasn't done well, almost expired I think, but the lily of the valley has surrounded it, I was going to move it to a pot if it is still there. Athyrium niponicum pictum metallicum is the one? It does need a very moist, sheltered position, mine got it, no good. The Athyrium filix-femina above has grown really big, and can take some sun, it is near a Dicentra spectabilis. My Dicentra gets covered by Lespedeza thunbergii after it dies back, that is later and grows at the top of a bank, trailing down. The Dicentra was really big and robust, then after about 5 years some of the old roots seemed to rot away, so possibly could do with a revamp. I have some growing from self set seedlings, they are difficult to get though, strong winds can kill them before they grow, and need to be big enough to transplant to pots. I have 4 plants together, makes a good show.

PrairieG I hope you get those plants, newcomers often just rip the lot out. A shame to let them do that! I would move my ferns here in spring as they are about to grow, then the shock will be less and they will be rearing to go. Autumn is OK if mild, or the fern very hardy, autumn transplanting in mild areas gives them time to grow a few roots, but if ferns going dormant then they can rot if get waterlogged with no root structure.

This is the L thunbergii, the dicentra lives at the bottom where its stems fall