Most of the ferns we grow thrive best in the light filtered through the canopy of trees and bear a deep shade that no other perennials can tolerate.You should start your adventure with ferns with easy-to-handle species crops, which include, among others steppe adiantum, rib cage, broad-leaved and males.
Ferns are perfect for creating perennial beds. Most often in shady and damp places, but not in the immediate vicinity of trees with a shallow and expansive root system, typical of poplar, birch, ash or lilac.Most ferns prefer slightly acidic or acidic soils with a high humus content.
Strongly acidic soil is liked by the common fern and royal fern, while the alkaline one corresponds to, among others, on the foot and tongue. All ferns like moist soil.Adult plants can withstand periodic water shortages, but no fern can withstand prolonged drought.Ferns should be mulched, for example with composted pine bark or sawdust from coniferous trees.
We plant potted ferns
1. Ferns previously grown in pots (in a nursery) can be planted into the ground at any time of the year (except winter), but the best date is spring. Before planting a plant, first dip the entire part of it in the pot in a bucket of water and wait for the air bubbles to stop escaping.When this happens, take the pot out of the water, remove the plant from the pot, and then loosen the root ball.
2. Plant the plume a bit deeper than it was growing in the pot (this fern has upright rhizomes, forming a log from the base of dead leaves with age). On the other hand, ferns with shallowly creeping rhizomes, such as Adiantum foots, should be planted at the same depth as in the pot.
3. Knead the soil around the ferns carefully.
4. At the very end, we water it so that the soil adheres perfectly to the underground part of the plant, and then carefully mulch the soil around the ferns, for example with peat or pine bark.Thanks to this treatment, the soil will remain moist for a long time.
Feather handle number one
One of the most popular garden ferns is the ostrich plume Matteuccia struthiopteris - a protected long-lived native perennial, the characteristic feature of which is the dimorphism of the leaves. This fern forms light green assimilating (sterile) leaves, the so-calledtrophiles, and much shorter and stiff sporulating leaves, the so-called sporophiles that are green at first and then dark brown (ornamental all winter).
The plume is one of the least demanding ferns, but although it is highly tolerant to light and soil type, it feels best in shaded places, on humus soil.Creates expansive rhizomes. It is therefore suitable for large gardens.
