Growing for Success | Ferns know how to leave an impression

Tree ferns are usually what people think of when they picture ferns, but a huge number of smaller ferns do well as indoor plants in the home garden as well as inside the house.

Here are just a few that are extremely popular and have performed well over the years.

Blue star fern, phlebodium aureum, is an epiphytic fern that grows just as happily in the forks of trees or among crevasses in rocks as it does in the ground. It has blue-green elongated fronds with wavy margins and stems that crawl out across the surface, throwing up fronds at random intervals. Its foliage colour provides a lovely contrast in the garden when grown as a ground fern among other plants.

Blue star ferns also grow very well as an indoor plant and will tolerate quite dry conditions for periods of time. Given reasonable light, they are a forgiving indoor plant.

The kangaroo fern, microsorum pustulatum, is another fern that has become on trend as an indoor plant. With its bold dark green foliage similar in appearance to that of the blue star fern, it is perfect for adding a touch of greenery to your home. Being another epiphytic fern, the kangaroo fern can be used and treated in much the same way as the blue star fern, and they work well together.

Silver lady fern, blechnum gibbum, is often referred to as the dwarf tree fern; this clumping understory fern is fast-growing with elegant, finely dissected fronds. The new light green fronds roll out around the crown, forming a rosette of arching fronds that stands out beautifully against the older dark green foliage. Growing to about a metre high on a slow-forming thin black trunk, it prefers partial to full shade and moist, well-draining soil.

Asplenium bulbiferum or ‘hen and chicken fern’ is a hardy, at times unusual fern native to Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea. What makes it unusual is that it will set little plantlets on top of its fronds, little ferns that will take root once the frond touches the ground. It is another lovely clumping epiphytic fern with shiny, lime green, lacy pendulous fronds. It likes a sheltered position and ample moisture. Like most epiphytic ferns, it can be grown well in baskets.

Other smaller ferns that look great in the Garden Centre but would look even better in your garden or home are maiden hair ferns, bird’s nest ferns, macho Boston fern baskets, autumn ferns and hare’s foot ferns.

If you are looking for a statement piece, we still have a few of the hard-to-reach tree ferns in stock, with more expected early in the new year.

Call in and have a chat with us about how you can incorporate these cool-looking plants into your garden.