How to nurture ferns?

654 Views 1 Reply 2 Participants Last post by Chanley, Oct 17, 2003

EnviroBecca

Discussion Starter · Oct 14, 2003

Our new house has a very foresty back yard, so we have to plant shade-loving plants, which we've never done before. We got an assortment of ferns (bare root) and planted them yesterday, making a hole at least 8" in every direction and filling in w/looser dirt and compost, in hopes of giving them a chance to get established on our rocky mountainside.

Now, how do we encourage these ferns to thrive? The catalog says they will do well in poor soil and cold winters, but are there any special tricks for making them happy? Should we pile up mulch on them or leave them exposed above the crown?

We also planted a dwarf everblooming bleeding heart. Any tips on that?

Save

1 - 2 of 2 Posts

Chanley

· #2 · Oct 17, 2003

this is chan's husband....
I grow about 5-6thousand ferns a year, so I guess i'm semi-expert.

anyway, with a hardy fern, just keep it moist, and if the site location is good it should do fine.
Leaf mold is the best dirt possible.... this just means partially decayed leaves, don't bother adding any other fert besides it.

bareroot ferns are hard to deal with, I would almost prefer potting them on until established, THAN planting... but seeing the time of year, this is unfeasible.

you are doing fine, let us know how it goes.
Drew

Save

1 - 2 of 2 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month