Ferns

Well Rick, Dryopteris tokyoensis grows in wet and acidic soil in its natural habitat. Here she seems to be happy in my cool and neutral soil, and it's approximately 90cm (35 inches). So it is surely drought that blocks growth indeed.

Mark, I often planted in the fall here because the winters are never very strict (except there are about ten days here where the freezing weather has hit us ...), but the plants I really afraid of losing, I always plant in the spring. Plants are more established when winter comes.

Otherwise, in addition to the Hardy Fern Foundations, there is the American Fern Society ( http://amerfernsoc.org/ ) and the British Pteridological Society (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/bps/), and there are others.
I often look at these two blogs (http://varenplanten.blogspot.com/ and http://varenbos.blogspot.com/), a Dutch ferns-lover, which transforms a forest in southern France, in Ardèche, in a woodland of ferns.

Hoy, if you grow lots of ferns, it might be interesting to inventory them indeed! ^ ^ It could be funny!

Jan, here I use plastic mini-greenhouses and sowing on sterilized leaf mold. I would have tried with xerics ferns.
Yes, I suppose I should have spores of Adiantum aleuticum (pedatum) 'Japonicum', in truth, I've never tried to sow many Adiantum (Adiantum hispidulum this year, so far all goes well, the prothallia are there, still no initial frond).

I do not know, me neither, precisely the species that I sowed this year...There are some species I have sowed for the fun as Gleichenia quadripartita, Blechnum minus, Lastreopsis hispida, Blechnum niponicum etc..
Others are quite common, many different Asplenium scolopendrium, Asplenium x ebenoides, Dryopteris wallichiana, cycadina, crassirhizoma, odontoloma, Athyrium otophorum, Hypolepis glanduligera, Dryopteris coreano-montana, some Pteris (many form of P.cretica, umbrosa, wallichiana, vittata etc.) etc.
All are currently at the stage of prothalli, some first fronds begin to appear.
I had some problems in some mini-greenhouses with white rot...Hard to get contamination under control in a mini-greenhouse.

I'd love to plant Polystichum vestitum here, it's an absolutely beautiful fern, but I'm a little afraid of damages due to cold.

I must go to check my plant of Polystichum vestitum. Our climate is probably not much different to Geoffrey but the polystichum has probably not done so well because I have it in a place that is just too dry. I grow quite a few polystichums and find them generally very tolerant of our garden, and extremely attractive. One mountain species, stenophyllum, grows on a raised bed with alpines, and really makes me think I should try more such small species.

I think your climate is slightly warmer than here (-11.8 ° C this year) Tim.

If you like small ferns in rockery, you should try the Pellaea. They are little beauties, Pellaea atropurpurea, Pellaea rotundifolia (which is often sold as indoor plant, but fits comfortably in the outdoors in pots or in rockery, the sun), Pellaea falcata (ditto).
Cryptogramma crispa is also a good rockery fern, not necessarily easy to culture, it grows on acid rocks.

Woodsia polystichoides is not bad either.

Yes I think I will definitely try some of these smaller ferns. Rachel Lever at Aberconwy Nursery has been growing many of these, especially the Cheilanthes. It would be nice to hear more of people's experiences growing them in the garden, but I imagine few people do. I haven't tried Pellaea species, so will certainly look out for these.

-11.8 sounds positively sub-tropical to me  ;D
Those small rockery ferns are very interesting for sure! Be sure to share anyone who has  or gets any!
I've mentioned before becoming very fascinated with small ferns growing in seasonally/dry places in Mexico/Central America along with succulents such as Echeveria! would love to get some of those to grow indoors with succulents, but have not found any :(

Lis - I would certainly be interested in spores. I did join the British Pteridological Society mainly so I could try a wider range of ferns from spores, but so far haven't really started growing many. They are a group (the rock ferns) that I would very like to propagate as we develop the nursery again, and I used to grow a number of cheilanthes. These, however, are generally difficult outside here so it's good to hear of experiences with other small ferns.

Cool one, Trond!

Lis wrote:

RickR wrote:

I don't know what to think about a fern that tricks me into thinking it is a grass... :-\

You think, 'Wow, that is sooo cool!' of course.

That's what I said  ;D I always like plants that don't look like they are supposed to :)

A little plant of Woodsia obtusa just unfurling its new fronds on the sand bed. This is growing in a carpet of Raoulia australis and makes a nice contrast to other plants on the bed.

Nice one, Tim!

Ferns must be amongst the most beautiful plants as their fronds unfurl in spring - even in our relatively dry garden we are growing more and more. At the Chelsea Show every year the fern displays are like a green oasis amongst the sea of colour (especially, in the past, Rickard's stand) - perfect time to display them in mid-May. This is one of the Dryopteris unfurling under the apple trees in the garden. So different to the delicate beauty of the Adiantum.