Any in the North East have ferns, sunlight?

-Will ferns that are between houses near a fence that get aprox. 3-4 hrs direct sun be o.k.?

They are not tried, or planted yet. I was surprised that this spot gets this much sun midday around 11 am to 2pm. When I got around to talking particular notice and rough measuring.

This message was edited Jun 23, 2013 11:03 AM

Hi Physeek. here is the dreaded answer....it depends on the fern. Some can handle full sun and dry conditions, others would perish rather quickly. Do you know what fern you have? below is a link that breaks it down type by habitat requirements.

http://www.hardyferns.org/fern-info-culturesheets.php

It might be a Christmas fern. The type that grow naturally in wooded areas here.
I was hoping it would work in the backyard/side as a good companion for an established mop head hydrangea.
I'm rethinking my transplanting idea...

This message was edited Jun 23, 2013 12:41 PM

Actually, it should work quite well there. All the listings I looked at for Polystichum acrostichoides, Christmas fern, say it handles partial sun (4 to 6 hours) quite well when given rich soil and a little extra moisture....

http://www.perennialresource.com/plants/fern/1363_polystichum-acrostichoides.aspx

I'm not really sure what type it is. Could be maiden hair, marginal wood, or other.
I'll have to have a closer look, to see any particulars that may help identify.

Thanks

Cool. I would suggest posting a picture of them on the Plant ID forum here...that way there will be no guessing...

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/plantid/all/

IF you planted them in AMONGST the Hydrangea's that could be the very thing to give the shade required, I have woodlands and you will be surprised what can tolerate more sun that first thought and others die due to too much when the requirements said dappled shade, anyway, why not lay out the potted Hydrangea's and lay the ferns in between to see how it looks and how they go with the amount of sun, naturally you will need to water them due to being in pots.
Also you can build a structure from either roof mate from garden canes or from good strong canvas material like a sail and attach to 3 stout poles, these structures are easy removed or re sited when required, done properly they can be a nice cool haven for sitting under too.
Good luck. WeeNel.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll have to get pictures on the plant ID forum there are 2 different types.

-Would the ferns be o.k. in pots initially?
They could then be easily moved around if they start to do bad.
(the hydrangea has been there a really long time and was cut down to almost a stump after being flooded and is coming back nicely)

Yes, ferns do quite well in containers...but remember that containers dry out much more quickly and will need a bit of extra attention in the watering department.

Interesting while I was looking into what type, I never really though about it but will certain varieties want to spread too much, or almost be invasive? I guess pictures before rather than later might be the way to go.

I have a fern called Vegetable fern Diplazium esculentum. It is an edible plant, very hardy in my zone 9 garden, handles morning sun and dappled light and is quite pretty. that being said, if it gets happy, it will spread, and spread and....well ya get the picture. The up side to that is that it is all those things and extremely easy to pull up. It is important to learn as much as you can before you plant....saves having to dig out tons of something invasive.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/54948/

themoonhowl,
"Invasive" is sometimes suggested for landscaping and can get kind of confusing to me. For example some suggest vinca minor "periwinkle", while others battle to get rid of it. I tried to plant some vinca minor as dormant root rihzomes or something and they never took...maybe I should be glad. Ground cover filling in areas between perennials blocking weeds is good. Wildly invasive and having to be constantly cut back and off other plants defeats the weed blocking time saver.

Physeek, over the years I have come to view the term invasive as having many levels/definitions.

At the off the charts top of the scale would be Kudzu, which can engulf the area it comes into...It climbs over trees and can smother large oaks and even consume houses if let unattended.It has truly become the scourge of the South/South east.

http://www.jjanthony.com/kudzu/

There are other plants that can be quite well behaved in some growing conditions/locations and make gardeners head for the Roundup in others...again usually a matter of climate....if it freezes back to the root every year, it is less likely to take over a garden as opposed to growing in a warmer clime where it does not go dormant.

I think the term invasive is actually a subjective , relative term . Some folks will call any plant that grows well, is hardy and may push its' gardener determined boundaries as an invasive. I also think it has to do with style/method of gardening. There are some plants that absolutely would be considered thugs in a perfectly manicured garden, but are most welcome in a more relaxed "cottage" style garden.

I mentioned the veggie fern as being a bit invasive....perhaps it would have been more precise to say in the proper setting this fern will grow well, return after a zone 8 freeze and reproduce readily. I reckon what i am trying to convey is that a lot goes in to the term invasive and it behooves a gardener to collect as much anecdotal info on a plant as well as documented growth info. So many factors come into play...soil, weather, water, care and also personal opinion.

An example would be Spanish Tarragon, Tagetes lucida. The person who gave me the plant said it did best in morning sun. It was a lovely plant, pretty flowers, great smell and edible and very well behaved.....then I ran across some info that said it required full sun to be at its best...so I moved it. The first year it grew and flowered like never before and the following spring i had 3 or four new plants come up. The second year, even more new plants...and that was when i went back and did more intensive reading....I made sure to deadhead the plants...but obviously not enough....now, in the spring I dig out a couple dozen young plants and give them away to our local garden club for their plant sale. http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/318/

It is important to get all the info and then decide if you are willing to do what is necessary to keep a plant you like in check. So many times invasive is applied to a happy growing plant that reseeds freely...and requires a bit more vigilance on the part of the gardener.

Plant what you like, but do your homework first. Know as much as you can from reading and then from growing the plant for a year or two....that is the only foolproof way to know exactly how a plant will perform in your garden.

I do have several varieties of ferns. a lot of them are potted because they can be very invasive.

Belle

I think it must depend on the type of ferns your talking about I have a fern gully here in my woodland area that has several ferns all beautiful but scatter seeds every year but IF they get to an area where you don't want them, you just weed them out, it's really only if you neglect this for several years they become an invasion and more difficult to remove as there fibrous take real hold of the soil they grow in, even the smallest crevice in a rock is a great growing place.

There are lot's of ferns that have their seeds on the underside of the fronds (leaf) these get scattered when they dry out as the fronds begin to decay and dry over winter, if you turn the leaf over, it looks like a line of rust all along the spines, but look closer and it's actually red seeds, lay a leaf on the ground, facing upwards, put a stone on top to keep in place or a few metal pins made from wire to prevent the leaf blowing around and the following year you could have several new ferns growing.
As themoon has stated, Invasive to one person is just normal propagation to someone else, and also, in my situation with damp woodland and dapple shaded areas, I like the tall ferns reaching up for light, but my daughter on the other hand would go nuts if she had my type of ferns (like huge shuttle cocks, hearts tongue) and several other types, all I would suggest is put them into large enough pots and make sure they have enough dapple shade and watered when needed.

Good luck and best regards. WeeNel.