Fond of Fronds

I've got a soft spot for Asplenium

 

That’s a nice combination @Banana Man!

 

Thank you, I love ferns, I'll take some more pics of the ones I have here Dryopteris is probably my favourite

I singed this one a bit last time I had a bonfire but this is all this year's growth, I cut them down completely in March April. It gets to a metre at least each year.

 

I have a similar sized Dryopteris @Banana Man, it’s outdoing my tree fern at the moment for impact!

 

A record breaking fern:-
Tiny Fern Found to Have Largest Genome on Earth

 

Polystichum proliferum
Young plantlet developing on the end of the frond.


Athyrium nipponicum "Pictum"

Athyrium otophorum


Polypodium calirhiza "Sarah Lyman"

 

That is positively astonishing!

 

I've had this bag of soft sand next to my ferns for probably 20 years. You can see it's falling apart at the seams. However it's produced an awesome supply of new ferns, seems they love to self propagate in the moist sand

 

That's amazing, interesting... and tempting as I have a few bags of sand hanging about!

 

I am replacing my hostas with ferns. I've found a place that has stacks of them @LG_ (Crystal Palace if you're interested)
Anyway, I have a general question. Most of the ferns that I have already are pretty forgiving of I forget to water them. This doesn't happen often but is there any fussy type/ variety that I should probably avoid?
The labels on the plants aren't much help as I'm assuming they err on the side of caution.

 

Are you growing them in the ground or in pots @BB3?

 

In pots. I have some in the ground - the usual bombproof suspects - but it's the patio pots where I want to grow some more unusual ferns

 

I wondered whether you would pop up over here after the "I've had it with Hostas" post @BB3! I have tried quite a large number of ferns, and some were devoured consistently by slugs. I'll retrieve my notes and post an abstract later (and curious about others' findings as well of course). When you say your ferns are forgiving, are all of those in the soil, or are some in pots? I find that most newly planted ferns need one or two seasons of good TLC to settle before they are able to survive for example droughts. More generally, plants in pots require more care than those in the soil, and can still be attacked by slugs. Before I come back with notes, I have Osmunda regalis in a non-porous pot without drainage holes that's basically a mini-swamp. That's one of my easiest ferns, I just occasionally fill it to the brim with water. I'm trying to grow it together with Lobelia cardinalis, but that seems to be veritable slug magnet. Off the top of my head, among the larger-leaved ferns I have are Asplenium scolopendrum, Dryopteris sieboldii, Cyrtomium fortunei and falcatum, and Onoclea sensibilis. Ah, but there are also so many lovely fine-leaved ferns ... more later.

 

I have loads in pots. Some for years. I've never once had a snail bite or nibble.
My problem is, when faced with different varieties. They all insist on constantly damp soil apart from the dryopteris
I don't want one that will immediately pop it's clogs if it dries out. A little crispy tipped warning is acceptable!

 

Here's some of the container jobs. Most I've had a while