Got hardy ferns?

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ocimum_nate
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Got hardy ferns?

Post by ocimum_nate »

Just wondering if anyone out there has hardy ferns? I would like to get some fern spores from anyone that is willing to share.
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Jeff: Igor's Apprentice
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RE: Got hardy ferns?

Post by Jeff: Igor's Apprentice »

Hey, Nate.

Have you ever grown ferns from spores? It sounds like lots of work.

No ferns on this property yet.
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RE: Got hardy ferns?

Post by Thuja »

I have some ferns here but have never started them from spores. I could send some but you'd need to instruct me on the fine art of sending it. I hope it doesn't get mistaken for anthrax. :shock:
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RE: Got hardy ferns?

Post by Brian_K »

Ferns are really interesting - the spores grow into gametophytes, produce sperm/eggs, and then embryo grows into the adult plant which then produces spores...
The spores need a film of water so that the sperm can swim to the egg, otherwise they'll be high and dry. I have no clue how long it takes, but I can only imagine LONG. Much faster to start from the rhizome.

I'm growing a western sword fern because its hardy, (growing into Montana), and its evergreen. Large too! Actually it spreads more than any of my bamboo. Maybe some of our PNW friends have first hand knowledge about it.

Heres a native fern list for Ohio: http://ohioline.osu.edu/b865/b865_15.html
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RE: Got hardy ferns?

Post by ocimum_nate »

Over 2 years ago I went to a wedding in California. At the reception I was intrigued with the tree ferns and noticed that tree was bearing spores I plucked off a leaf and stuck it in a film canister and took it home with me. I later put the spores in an envelope and stuck it with the rest of my seed collection in my freezer. This last spring I was digging through my seeds and saw the spores. I put them on some jiffy pellets and enclosed the jiffy pellets in a separate container under light.
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The picture is how they looked about 3 months ago. I figured if I could get them to work I should try out some hardy ones to inter plant with my bamboo for a tropical appearance.
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RE: Got hardy ferns?

Post by Jeff: Igor's Apprentice »

Congratulations! Those look further along then I would have imagined. I really don't know that much about it though.

Were you looking for hardy tree ferns? I was under the impression that they were not that hardy.

One of my favorite hardy ferns is the "Alaskan fern". Looks tropical to me. Polystichum setiferum (P. angulare).
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RE: Got hardy ferns?

Post by bambooweb »

I have a fern here that I should propagate. It comes up between the rocks in the spring but then dries up in June. Since I don't see it growing anywhere else in the area I don't want to kill it while trying to propagate it.
Does anyone have a good way to propagate ferns and when do you think the best time to chip it out from between the rocks and have it survive?

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RE: Got hardy ferns?

Post by Markj »

Seeing as it can rain every other day here, ferns are no problem here;

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RE: Got hardy ferns?

Post by ocimum_nate »

The tree fern is definitely not hardy. I just wanted to try propagating ferns and it seems to be working.
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RE: Got hardy ferns?

Post by foxd »

I noticed today that the painted fern I recently planted looks like it is getting ready to put out spores. I held a white piece of paper under several of the leaves and lightly tapped them. There did appear to be some tiny specks that came off one of the leaves. How many spores should I expect the leaves to shed?
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RE: Got hardy ferns?

Post by ocimum_nate »

For harvesting and shipping I look for leaves with spore sacks that are still together but have turned brown. I was at Lowes the other day and noticed the Japanese painted ferns there were just prime for collecting. As for the shipping I would just remove a portion of the leaf and let it dry out for a few days in a dry area. Put it in a ziplock bag and mail it.
If anyone is interested in Christmas cacti or hardy cacti I could send some seeds in trade.
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RE: I have some huge native ferns!

Post by I4Beauty »

Hello, I'm both new to this site, as well as being something of a newbie to landscaping knowledge.

I collected some gorgeous ferns from my cousin's heavily wooded property and transplanted them to my then parent's place (now mine). Many of the individual leaves (proper term?) were over six feet long! I had no idea such ferns grew wild in Ohio.

They seem to handle low moisture pretty well, considering how rarely I remember to water the ones planted under the porch overhang.

Originally, I thought they were all the same, but now I've noticed that there seems to be three different types of the individual leaves themselves; 1-extremely lacy leaf, 2-very coarse leaf, and 3-halfway between the other two.

Does anyone have any information on these plants? Since they were collected in the same area, could they be the same plant, just growing differently?

If anyone's interested in trading, I'm looking for a clumping bamboo that can handle the North-East Ohio winters. I also have tons of creeping-myrtle, as well as four or five different types of Hostas.
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RE: Got hardy ferns?

Post by foxd »

I noticed about two hours ago that the Japanese Painted Fern spores appear to have sprouted. Very tiny, but look very neat under a magnifying glass!

I also suspect I may have a different type of fern sprouting in with one of the P. heteroclada seedlings. Much larger in size, maybe as much as a quarter inch across.
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RE: Got hardy ferns?

Post by ocimum_nate »

Started some of my own Japanese painted ferns yesterday.
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RE: Got hardy ferns?

Post by foxd »

ocimum_nate: Are you also starting from spores? Mine are still tiny, but there seem to be more of them now. I wonder how long it takes for them to start looking like what we normally picture as ferns?
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