Best ferns for California?

I'm looking for new and interesting ferns to go in a shady area of my yard. The one I like the most in pictures, the ostrich fern, doesn't like hot, dry weather. So I guess that's out.

Any suggestions?

I strongly recommend this one if you like a big fern:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/54650/index.html

and for a little one:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/54822/index.html
I know there seems a big discrepancy in mature sizes listed, but ferns aren't classified by looks but by more esoteric taxonomy. There are different species of davallia and this is the one I think is mine, which is two years old and a very modest 1' TxW clump.

Both were purchased at Home Depot. I have the microlepia in several different places. It takes a season to become established, so don't give up on it! It really takes off in the second year with decent soil and watering.

That microlepia is a pretty fern. The light green foliage should show up well in the shade.

Woodwardia species are nice, large, stemless ferns that are simple and grow fast and always look great (except in hot, blazing sun). Best fern I think for California. But I personally prefer tree ferns... like Cyathea brownii, medularis and cooperi 'Brentwood' the best. Other nice one, but hard to find, is Dicksonia squarrosa. Dicksonia antarctica is nice, but super common, and often has dead fronds that have to be dealt with. Blechnum brasiliense is another great fern that has bright red new leaves, but hates to dry out, so careful.

In your area you could easily grow Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) for a large fern;
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/159/index.html

Mother Fern (Asplenium viviparum) for a small fern;
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/57035/index.html

and my personal favorite for texture Foxtail Fern (Asparagus 'Meyers') for a medium sized fern
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/33393/

They all grow here and I am much more climate challanged than you are there in SJ!

:~D

Thanks for the great suggestions. Those tree ferns are spectacular. Probably too tall for the site I'm looking at, but maybe I'll have to find a spot for one. The Woodwardia are beautiful too.

Kachinagirl, thanks for letting me know that you've had luck with the Ostrich fern. I really do like that one and it is around the right size.

Maybe I'll have to plant a nice mix of ferns.

My suggestion was also the Myers Asperagus fern, I have my pic also posted in the plant file. Mine does the sprawl-out starfish look as I have it in almost all shade. I sometimes forget to water it but it never looks bad and it's been there since '98. My kind of plant!

That's one of the reasons I like the Meyer's Asparagus fern. It's tough as nails! Lily, a local nursery here has an ostrich fern in a 1/2 wine barrel in their shadehouse. It's really something to see. I would probably use the fake barrels (foam or plastic) because it would keep moisture more evenly, but you can't beat an ostrich fern growing up through a bunch of impatiens! Wow! It would be great in the shady spot of a covered patio!

K

Ooh, now that I look at the Asparagus Fern, it is looking really nice.

I was planning to put the ferns in the ground. Would the Ostrich Fern make it in the open ground?

Yep! :~D

I have tried Ostrich ferns down here in So Cal and they are pretty hopeless... always die in the hot summers... I know the summers are hot in San Jose.. and Modesto.. how do you keep them going?

Shade, acid soil, and water. Also, we chill here, perhaps they are happiest when they get a good dormant period. (?) That's my guess and I'm sticking to it! LOL

K

Mother fern, Sword fern, Pteris, Five fingered fern, button fern, tongue fern, ...I'll think of some more when I get into the garden.

But the evergreen Mother fern is my very favorite fern in my garden. One more question you should ask yourself. Ferns have shapes. Some are very upright and some are spreading. It's a good thing to take into consideration.

But my favorite site for research is Fancy Fronds:

http://www.fancyfronds.com/index.html
They have a searchable database by zone, evergreen or not, size, type of light, etc. It's amazing.

Hiya Doss buddy! I have a Mother Fern living quite happily in my office, they make a lovely house plant! I'm going to get a pretty wrought iron stand for it and repot it into a pretty pot with some super fern-ish soil. That's an awesome Fern link, thanks!

K :~D

K - I can never remember to water my indoor plants - so they are all artificial (Shock and Horrors).
Mother ferns love it outside here. Try it you'll like it. Throw some babies to the wind. :-)

Oak leaf fern is a great one too. They are evergreen and tend to grow very wide but they are like Iron. You have to wash them off every once in awhile because the foliage gets a little dusty.

This message was edited Jul 19, 2005 3:46 PM

those are the mother ferns, right? I love the black stems! K

(Edited...I'm trying to make Mother Fern babies now. I placed a frond with babies on it on top of a pot next to the "mom" plant. Then placed a small rock on top to make the bottom of the baby touch the soil. Everyting is still connected to the mom plant, will this work?)

This message was edited Jul 19, 2005 4:48 PM

Great fern link, doss. I'm going to spend some time researching what's on the site. Have you all found your ferns locally or do you order online? It seems like when I've looked in nurseries before, there weren't very many choices.

I am really looking for upgright ferns for the back of the shady area, but would love some others to mix in towards the front.

Here's how it's done. You've got the right idea.

Some ferns, such as Asplenium and Polystichum species, produce new young ferns, known as bulbils, growing piggy-back style on mature fronds. Techniques vary, but it is quite easy to encourage these plants to grow. Containers can be placed alongside the 'mother' fern, and the mature frond pegged down so the crown of the new fern is kept in contact with the growing medium, to be separated when it has taken root.

Alternatively, the entire frond can be removed, held in contact with the growing medium and allowed to die while the new plants take root. And, most simply, especially with the common and appropriately named hen-and-chicken fern, Asplenium bulbiferum, the bulbil can be carefully removed from the 'mother' frond and potted as it is.

A good starting medium is 50:50 perlite:peatmoss, with a very small quantity of a slow-release fertiliser included, until the plant is well established. In all cases, plenty of humidity, such as under plastic or glass, will ensure a greater chance of success.

Ok. I'll cut a slit up the side of a decapitated 2 liter bottle and slide it down over the pot I have the baby sitting on. That will keep the moisture in and speed up the process too I bet! :~D

Isn't the internet great?
D

The best! How did we ever get along without it?

I have the following growing outside:
Australian Tree Fern Alsophila australis
Autumn Fern - Dryopteris erythrosora
Bird's Nest Fern - Asplenium nidus
Brake Fern - Pteris
Cinnamon Fern - Osmunda cinnamomea
Common Rasp Fern - Doodia media
Double Maidenhair Fern -Adiantum raddianum 'Pacific Maid'
Dwarf Holly Fern - Polystichum tsus-simense
Dwarf Tree Fern - Blechnum gibbum
Fee Sickle Fern - Pellaea falcata
Five Finger Fern - Adiantum pedatum
Hand Fern - Doryopteris pedata
Hare Foot Fern - Polypodium aureum
Hart's Tongue Phyllitis scolodendrium
Japanese Leather Fern - Pyrrosia palmatifolium
Japanese Painted Fern - Athyrium goeringianum epictum
Japanese Tassel Fern - Polystichum polyblepharum
Maiden Hair - Adiantum raddianum `Fritz Luthii'
Male Fern - Dryopteris filix-mas robusta
Rabbit's Foot Fern - Davallia trichomanoides
Ribbon Fern -Pteris cretica 'albolineata'
Roundleaf Fern -Pellaea rotundifolia
Silver Lace Fern - Pteris ensiformis evergemiensis
Sword Fern - Polystichum munitum
Variegated Boston Fern (newest find) - probably Nephrolepis exaltata
I think my favorites are
Autumn Fern
Japanese Painted Fern
Variegated Boston Fern
and Dwarf Tree Fern
Many (probably 1/2) came from Half Moon Bay Nursery - Nice selection - Rotten Labeling. I have also gotten several from Home Depot.

Do you have the relatively new Japanese painted fern with the red stem. See, it's never enough is it? I'm wondering if it's less hardy.

All plants are sacrificial - But, given a chance, most will survive - despite what the zone or the "gardener" does to them.

Thanks once again. I love it "All plants are sacrificial". I will tell that to the poor chocolate cosmos I transplanted just before this heat wave.

What a great bunch of ferns you have, PotEmUp. Did you find the dward tree fern at the Half Moon Bay Nursery? It sounds awesome (and manageable in size).

Lilystorm, the dwarf tree fern was from Half Moon Bay and today may be a really good day to go to the coast - Looking at 100° again today!
Doss, silly me put in 66 annuals yesterday. I will report later on the mortality rate.

Don't you know that friends don't let friends buy annuals? :-)

Now I'm going to show my ignorance once more. I've only seen Hare's foot fern grown in hanging baskets. Do you grow it in the ground?

PotEmUp, I put in a large number of annuals and perennials yesterday too. I'm crossing my fingers that they don't burn up.

I have a Rabbit Foot's - Fern Humata tyermanii in the ground, but stupidly now covered by the Baby's Tears. The Hare Foot Fern is in a hanging basket in the Atrium, right next to the Dove Plant (i.e. the one the Dove loves to nest in - The 2nd brood is about ready to leave the nest.)

Which of these ferns are evergreen for you, or which aren't - depending on the list that's shorter?

Good question, doss. I like evergreen too.

My recall says that all are evergreen except Autumn Fern and Japanese Painted Fern, although several others are sorta ratty during the winter months. Some, like Bird's Nest, are not rated for the area, but keep hangin' in there. Here is a nice fern listing http://www.bachmans.com/retail/tipsheets/Perennials/VarietiesofHardyFerns.cfm I think most any fern will survive our very temperate climate in the Bay Area., although some may not really thrive.
Here are two other interesting Fern articles Part I http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art24622.asp and Part II http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art24623.asp

Don't forget the advanced search tool on DG http://davesgarden.com/pf/advanced.php?sname=Plants

Here is my new planting that Potemup helped me with.

I ended up with five fingered fern (which you can't see here), the Pteris - it's the tallest plant - doesn't look much like a fern, some lemon button ferns, red carex that likes the shade and will show up better when the ground cover spreads, a yellow green sedum, and white dicondra - which I know that I'll have to keep after. And finally quite a few hellebores. They are seedlings from a hybridizer and so I don't know what they'll look like and I don't anticipate blooms for a couple of years. It will be fun to see. The white dicondra is supposed to be difficult. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway - fun with ferns, but don't stop there!

BTW, one thing I really like about the microlepia ferns is that they don't take a lot of water. In fact, with water it's a very aggressive fern that keeps trying to run over my hellebores and dwarf rhodies, so I have to keep chopping it back!

*Bump*

How did I miss this thread? I have just a few ferns and would really like to try Ostrich fern because we do get pretty cold in the winter. I'm going to try leaving our Alsophila australis (Cyathea cooperi) outside next winter as they are way to big now to bring back into the greenhouse next fall. Dicksonia does well here and Maidenhairs love it here only if they get splashed on by a fountain during our hot summers. I had Blechnum brasiliense at the coast and loved the color of the new fronds. I wish there were some variety down here when it comes to ferns. I've worked to gain shade and moist shade, and now would also like to add some graceful foliage.

Does anyone know of any growers of other species of Cyathea beside cooperii?

See the Cyathea section in the Plant Files- any that have a photo from me do well in southern California (since all those photos are from here)... there are at least 6 other species of Cyathea that do well here... there are over 100 other species of Cyathea that are simply impossible to get, and many might do well here... just can't find them.

here's a link to some interesting-looking sites. Perhaps one will have more Cyatheas than just cooperii.

K

http://www.sdfern.com/sources.htm

hiya Kachina!,

How's Son Of Bob...lol, doing? Thanks for the link.

hiya PalmBob, I've throroughly looked through the many incredible pics you've take of this genus and hope to grow some of the ones that are available, if I can find them. I've got some great spots in the shade of live oaks that will be acidic, cool and I've installed mist in most of the trees to eventually accomodate the plants I'd like to put in. On a recent visit to Golden Gate park and the Strybing Pam and I both really fell in love with this genus and if I have to grow from spore I will in order to get my greasy little hands on some of these.

best,
don