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Woodland ferns as house plants and for the garden

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Do you use ferns in your garden? If you don’t you don’t know what you’re missing. They make idea spots of greenery is shaded corners of your garden. A nice resting place for the eye. They are adaptable plants, and make ideal ground cover and even boarder plantings in the landscape and you may not realize this but they can make ideal potted plants in the home.

Ferns are an ancient type of vegetation which occupied the world long before the evolution of seed producing plants. They are strictly foliage plants, since they reproduce without flowering.

Ferns produce long fronds which are similar to the leaves of seed producing plants. Fronds arise directly from the ground with no central stem. The small brown spots on the underside of the leaves contain spores which serve the same purpose as seeds in reproducing the plant.

Most ferns used in landscapes are shade loving woodland types, although there are sun tolerant ferns available through gardening catalogs. They will thrive best if located near trees, or on the east or north side of a building, where they will receive partial shade. Woodland ferns may grow quite poorly if subjected to hot afternoon sun.

Ferns start growth very early in the spring, and retain their delicate leafy foliage until several light frosts freeze them back in the fall. They are quite free from disease or insect pests, and thus are easy to grow in the native gardens or border plantings around the home.

Woodland ferns grow best in a soil which has a high humus content, almost pure leaf mold is ideal. The average garden soil may be made suitable for ferns by adding liberal quantities of peat moss or compost. An abundant supply of water is also needed throughout the season to promote vigorous growth.

The best time to transplant ferns is in the spring about a month before the average last frost date, or in the fall a couple weeks after the average first frost date. Keep the roots covered with a protective ball of moist soil or peat moss at all times. Apply water as needed after transplanting to maintain a high moisture content in the soil.

If you are gathering ferns from wild sources you need permission from the land owner prior to digging up the plants. Only dig a few plants leaving several behind to maintain the original natural collection. Although ferns grow abundantly in moist woodlands, care should be taken in digging up the plants for landscaping your home. They spread rather slowly from underground rootstocks. They also reproduce from spores, but several years are required to produce a mature plant in this way.

Nursery or garden centers may have ferns, or they may be willing to secure plants for you. This may be a more practical way to start than to collect them from the wild. Make sure that the plants you buy are hardy woodland ferns and not tropical plants that would die outdoors during the winter.

The ferns in your landscape planting may serve as a source for potted plants for use in the home. Maidenhair ferns and spleenworts are particularly suitable. These smaller woodland ferns are easy to grow as house plants. The key to growing outdoor ferns indoors is humidity. This can be provided by placing the pots on pebbles or crushed stone in a tray of water. The pots should not stand in the water. The atmosphere provided in a terrarium or bottle garden is ideal. Use a high humus potting soil and ample drainage material in the bottom of the pot. Ferns are attractive only when making vigorous green growth. Therefore, apply a soluble house plant fertilizer regularly. In the winter, locate ferns in bright light, but never in a hot sunny window.

The following is a list of ferns suggested for indoor and outdoor planting.
Outdoor Ferns: (hardy)

* Japanese silver-painted fern –Athyrium goeringianum ‘Pictum’
* Cinnamon fern –Osmunda cinnamomea
* Christmas fern –Polystichum acrostichoides
* Maidenhair fern –Adiantum pedatum
* Hay-scented fern –Dennstaedtia punctilobula
* Ostrich fern –Matteuccia struthiopteris

Indoor Ferns (non-hardy):

* Boston fern — Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’
* Bird’s-nest fern– Asplenium nidus
* Staghorn fern– Platycerium bifurcatum
* Rabbit’s-foot fern– Davallia fejeenisis ‘Plumosa’
* Button fern– Pellaea rotundifolia
* Strawberry fern– Hemionitis palmata

Either Indoor or Outdoor:

* Maidenhair fern — Adiantum pedatum
* Walking fern– Camptosorus rhizophyllus
* Sspleenwort– Asplenium sp.
* Squirrel -foot fern — Devallia mariesii
* Felt fern– Pyrrosia sp.






Growing house plants from seed?

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As you’ve probably gathered from my last two seed related posts, you don’t need a greenhouse and misting system to successfully propagate house plants from seed. It is really fairly simple and inexpensive.

A number of popular foliage and flowering house plants are commonly propagated from seed, including the umbrella tree Brassaia, False aralia Dizygotheca, tree philodendron P. Selloum, palms, cacti, succulents, geraniums, begonias, and impatiens.

How to Plant Seeds

Unlike seeds of many temperate woody plants, which require a storage period of moist chilling(stratification) prior to planting, the seeds of tropical plants should be sown as soon as they are mature. House plant seeds may be sown in any container with drainage holes. Use a sterilized medium which is low in soluble salts such as milled sphagnum moss, vermiculite, or a mixture of equal parts sand and peat moss. Bottom heat (between 70 and 75 degrees F) aids the germination of seeds and growth of small seedlings. Soil heating cables and mats are available in several sizes to fit individual needs. Inexpensive models for seed flats are usually preset at 72 degrees F. Larger ones, for greenhouses benches and outdoor hotbeds, may be thermostatically controlled.

Sow seeds sparingly and as evenly as you can. Seedlings that are bunched together will have poor air circulation and are likely to fall victim to damping-off, a fungal disease which attacks the seedling stems at the soil surface. If the seeds are so small that they are dust-like or powdery, sow them on top of a moist medium – do not cover them. If they are larger, the rule of thumb is to cover them to twice their diameter. When working with seeds the size of coleus, impatiens, and gloxinia, simply press them into the surface of the planting medium with the palm of your hand.

Label each container with the variety planted and the date. This is a handy reference when you want to determine how long it takes certain plants to grow from seed to maturity. If you want to experiment with different growing methods, be sure to add other information to the label, such as growing medium used, temperature, mist or bottom watering, or depth of planting.

With nearly all seeds, it is imperative to keep the medium moist, but not soaked. Containers with drainage holes can be soaked in a sink or shallow tray of water. Those without drainage can be moistened by misting the surface with tepid water or carefully adding the needed water with a tablespoon. If you are working with very small seeds, it is a good idea to put a clear glass or plastic cover on the container to maintain the moisture, since they germinate better in high humidity. If too much water is added, leave the cover off until the surface appears to have dried out somewhat.

Care of Seedlings

When seedlings show above the soil, they should be moved to brighter light. The first one or two leaves that sprout from most seeds are cotyledons, which nourish the stem tip and the foliage leaves which follow. Until the foliage leaves appear, do not allow direct sunlight to reach the seedlings for more than a few minutes daily. You can determine the amount of light seedlings need by learning the light requirements of the mature plant. For example, geranium seedlings need more sunlight than rex begonia seedlings. An ideal place for seedlings is 3 or 4 inches below a pair of 40-watt fluorescent tubes.

When seedlings are started in a high-humidity container, it is necessary for them to go through a hardening-off period to become accustomed to the drier conditions of the open air. Leave the container’s cover off for an hour or two each day after the sprouts appear. As the seedlings progress, leave it off all day or night, finally removing it entirely. Be careful not to let the growing medium dry out during this process.

Transplant seedlings before they begin to crowd each other, usually as soon as the first true leaves develop. They can go into small, individual pots or several seedlings can be transplanted into one flat or a large pot to save space. As they grow, the largest ones are transplanted into separate containers. Use your fingers and a flat instrument like a nail file or butter knife to separate and lift tiny seedlings. Handle them by their root balls or leaves; it is very easy and usually fatal to crush the stems. Reset them at approximately the same depth as they have been growing and firm the soil gently around the roots. Water thoroughly from below.

Until the plants are established, keep them in a warm, bright place, but out of direct sunlight. Create a high-humidity environment, if possible – it is especially beneficial to plants at this stage. As soon as seedlings begin active growth, fertilize every two weeks with diluted liquid plant food. If the container does not list a strength recommendation for seedlings, mix the fertilizer at one-third to one-half the rate suggested for house plants.

Houseplants- swollen leaves and edema

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Have you noticed that occasionally some of your plants will get swollen blister like areas on their leaves or fleshy stems? I went through a period of that with one of my Christmas Cactus’ for two years straight. I’m happy to report that it’s not happening this year though.


Sometimes the spots are tan at first or they become dark brown and become wart like. Corky bumps occur most often on the underside of the leaves of succulent plants such as jade plant and peperomia. Of course they could occur these bumps could occur on other plant parts, and on other types of plants as well such as Swedish ivy, schefflera, croton, geranium or begonia.

It this were to continue the leaves will turn yellow and droop, and then fall from the plants. Plants can become spindly and cease to grow as result of this condition which is called edema. It is often found on indoor plants in winter. It’s caused by environmental factors – a build up of water pressure in the leaf tissues will result in dostortion and busting of cells.

Overwatering, high humidity, and low light intensities favor the development of edema. Faulty watering practices, such as allowing plants to dry out completely and then drowning them, encourages it. Avoid overwatering susceptible plants, especially during the winter months when they should be kept slightly on the dry side.

Differences in potting medium, environment, and the individual plant type influence water needs. If the soil feels or looks damp in a pot, don’t water. Allow the soil to dry out somewhat, then water deeply until water drains out of the hole in the pot’s base. This insures that all of the plant’s roots receive water and it leaches out excess minerals accumulated in the soil. Make sure to empty water out of the saucer beneath the plant so the roots do not sit in water.

If edema occurs, keep the relative humidity below 70% in the vicinity of the plants. Improving air flow over the leaves by spacing plants further apart and increasing ventilation will help reduce humidity. Inexpensive humidity meters which can help you monitor the plants’ environment can be bought at garden centers or through catalogs. Moving the plants to a sunny location or adding supplemental artificial lighting is also beneficial.

Leaves showing symptoms of edema will not recover, but you can halt the decline of a plant by improving light and watering less often. Repotting to improve soil drainage may also help. Affected plants often recover from oedema with the return of more favorable growing conditions in spring and early summer, especially if they are placed outside as soon as weather permits.

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