Fond of Fronds

Asplenium scolopendrium (hart's tongue fern) - need to cut out the old fronds

Cyrtomium fortunei (holly fern / Fortune's fern)




Blechnum spicant (deer fern)

 

Most ferns are difficult to identify, as they are too similar. The closest I can think of is one of the Polystichum, but no guarantee. Let's see what @micearguers can say.
Anyway this post made me go check my fern wall and I was surprised to find that a number of freshly emerged fronds needed their pot to be watered, probably due to the strong winds we are getting at the moment, which dried the soil out!

 

So long as it isn't bracken, I'm happy to wait @Papi Jo

 

@BB3 @Papi Jo my fern identification skills are poor but do not dampen the enthusiasm. From browsing the identification forum on Welcome to the British Pteridological Society (British Pteridological Society; I might well sign up to become a member) my guess is that it might be Dryopteris filix-mas. It seems to be a 'juvenile frond' which makes identification harder. Polystichum did not come up in that forum, so I have no data for that hypothesis. As chance would have it, last year I found a new young fern in between the patio tiles. This has happened only once in this garden (in until recently very dry Cambridge it seemed a miracle). I pulled it out, planted it, and showered it with affection. Picture below - it looks somewhat similar to yours, but when I zoom in there are differences in patterning. I have no idea if this means these are different species or whether it could be the difference between different juvenile ages. I don't think yours is bracken. Let's keep track and compare notes?

 

Stage one extract it from rose before the roots get tangled. Will definitely keep you up to date. Look forward to seeing yours grow to maturity too @micearguers

 

Can I join too? I have a self-seeded fern between the paving stones, but mine has been there for a couple of years.

This is how it currently looks like:

 

Some unfurling fronds today, with ID slightly unreliable!

Dryopteris wallichiana, an evergreen fern which almost takes the limelight away from my tree fern!



Dryopteris filix-mas getting ready (one of the few plants that I've kept since moving here!)



Another Dryopteris, I think!

 

It is amazing how versatile ferns are. The variety just continues to add to gardens, parks and wild areas. The knuckles as they start their growth are really beautiful and often missed so these photos are brilliant.

 

I'm sure you could become a savvy member of the BPS, @micearguers ! Re the ID, I've taken a new look at my small fern collection and to my dismay have found a good half a dozen labels fallen out of their pots to the ground. No idea what happened; the strong winds? a facetious bird? On the brighter side, those few ferns which were looking thirsty have now fully recovered.
I'll post pics when the sun comes back:

 

Maidenhair ferns are my absolute favourite, @shiney - you are so lucky! I have some in pots but I doubt they'd fare well, let alone spread, in my garden.

@BB3 I have a similar one coming up in an Acer pot. There is a Dryopteris filix-mas very nearby so I'm assuming that's what it is.


I cut the manky fronds from my Asplenium scolopendrium(s).