How to keep donated Ferns for future use?

I've just been donated a HUGE bag of ferns by a kind new neighbour having a garden clear out. A dustbin liner was needed to contain the bases, so it is quite a few.

I have plans for these as I like ferns, but I am currently rescuing the garden from the jungle developed after an extended illness where I have been able to pay little attention for the last couple of years.

My question is how do I preserve ferns? If they were bushes I would just heal them in to a piece of ground.

I am able to plant a few now, but most need to wait to the spring.

Can I temporarily plant them, or can I put them in largish containers (say 12" to 18" diameter) I have left from container plants which are now "ex-parrots", following enforced recent neglect?

How quickly must I get them in their temporary homes, and what conditions will I need to maintain? I'm thinking I must get them in in 3 or 4 days, and maintain moist but not waterlogged compost - I have a couple of bags of all-purpose left.

Thanks for any advice.

(I'll ask another day about the Himalayan Giant Blackberry that has gone beserk !)

Ferdinand

 

Hello, and welcome.

Yes, ferns are fine in pots. Use your compost to settle them in containers, place them in a shady location, and they will be content till spring. Some might lose their top growth if they are deciduous ones. Some ferns prefer acid soil, but most get by with neutral, and anyway you wouldn't be able to tell which ones liked acidic conditions unless you knew their names. Presumably they were in the ground at your neighbour's, so they should be fine in the ground (eventually) at your place.

Ferns are generally very easy going and excellent at surviving. If you place them near a wall, just check every so often that they are not too dry. Really that shouldn't be a problem through the winter though.

 

Thanks.

Now I need to clear some ground !

I'm not sure how to Like in the new forum.

 

There's a row of symbols on the bottom right hand corner of each post (except your own). The thumb is a like, the tick an agree, the smile is amusement, the "i" is informative, the heart is friendly, the carrot (which some people think is a spanner, but defo looks like a carrot to me ) is useful, and the paintbrush is creative.

I haven't yet worked out if the paintbrush is a compliment or not. Sometimes it seems like "wow, impressed", but it could also be interpreted as "yeah, right, as if".

 

Thanks.

I have awarded you a paintbrush !

 

Most kind ... I think!

 

In addition to all the info @ViewAhead has given you @Matt Wardman , you can also keep the ferns in plastic bags for a good while if necessary. As long as they have a bit of soil and some drainage holes, they'll be fine for a good while. It's basically the same as potting them up.
It's worth taking some time to separate them, and plant up in pots any that you can, and, as already said, there's a good chance most will be the type that prefer some shade and moisture, so just tuck them somewhere that they won't dry out.
Some like dry conditions, and tolerate a fair bit of sun, but unless the person you got them from had some growing out of cracks in walls or similar, and gave you those, it's the most likely conditions that will suit them.
They're very useful for all sorts of sites, and are generally very forgiving, so you should have a good amount to plant out when you're ready

 

Thank you all.

I have lots of sites, but most of them are currently obscured, in the Bilbo Baggins "Mirkwood" sense of obscured, albeit mainly by apple trees, Himalayan Giant blackberries (I'm a blackberry vinegar fiend) and wisterias.