Starting fern from spores?

OK, Am I crazy for wanting to try this? I joined the Hardy Fern Foundation this past year and just got the latest newsletter. They have a spore exchange for its members. This opens doors to ferns I have not had access too. Have you tried to grow ferns from spores? Any advice?

Shady

I started to grow a Boston Fern last year from spores. I scraped just a light coating onto one of those moist jiffy pellets and covered it with a clear plastic cup. Some friends of mine were doing it, too, but some put a thick coating of spores on their pellets and theirs didn't grow as fast.

Mine did really well until I put it out in the greenhouse and it got way too hot in there one day. I had quite a few things die, including this. But I'll try it again this year, perhaps, just for kicks and giggles. ; )

Cheryl

I added some chuncks of moss gathered from around my property as well as buttermilk and plain old Dannon yogurt and whipped it around in my blender and then poured it out along a path I have and presto, I had moss everywhere. I was really proud of myself. If we can do it with moss, I see no reason why we can't figure out something similar with fern spores.

I think I'll try Cheryl's method. Hoping others comment about growing ferns from spores.

Say Shady, what did it cost you to join the Hardy Fern Foundation? What do you get for your membership if you don't mind my asking.

Hi Eq,
I read some suggestions from different sources- some sound so easy and others sound so complicated. I have moss that grows in the yard and baby ferns growing in the moss. I told my DH I just wanted to get some of these spores and spread them around on the moss and let mother nature take care of them. He doesn't want to do that. He like doing it the more complicated way.

CJ what is a Jiffy pellet? is that one of those round flat disks of peat...?

Hardy Fern Foundation: http://www.hardyferns.org/home.htm $25/year. Spore exchange is $.50/fern Even if I get a few ferns out of one batch I would be happy.

This is the page about the spore exchange: http://www.hardyferns.org/sporeexchange.htm scroll down to the bottom and you will see a blurb: How do I grow from spore? A Fern Spore Primer from the HFF founder: I like this way the best so far.

I also read article in my fern book: Ferns for American Gardens by John Mickel.
Shady

Yes, one of those Jiffy brand round flat disks of peat. ; ) Walmart sells them in 12 packs for a dollar.

That sounds pretty, Eq, a moss path, but do you have to water it pretty much everyday or is it already a moist area?

I so hate upkeep and maintenance and watering anything around here becomes a chore... I figured if I was going to try something like this, it was best to take spores from my own property as they'd be most likely to survive. I then chose an area that was moist and shaded over close to my wetlands. I do absolutely nothing now!

I have the book written by John Mickel. I need to bond with it. I may or may not join the Hardy Fern Foundation. There is one other Fern Society I want to check out and I'll only have time for one. I think I'm going to lean toward them though because if some of us are already members over there, I'd rather be with people I am comfortable with as opposed to all new faces.

I have a book FERNS TO KNOW AND GROW by F. Gordon foster. His propogation method is very complicated...not for amateurs. I think I will just go out and divide mine. Anyone want any hayscented or wood or other ferns?

I think I'll skip that guy's method. I'm not into anything complicated these days.

Hayscented ferns! Pant pant pant! That's one up there with Netted Chain Fern that I LUST for. I can't believe I missed this thread! This is my lucky year here! Sanicle, Skunk Cabbage, and Hay Scented Ferns! Oh my! I'm watching this thread. Yes yes yes!

I'm going for simple, I think I will keep reading a bit and see what I way I finally decide. I figure, most people are not rocket scientists and hey this is NOT rocket science. So shouldn't I be able to do this???? I will keep you informed of the process, which by the way may be a long one, from what I am reading. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, right? and maybe this might be one of those time to be a little ignorant. I don't think I want to over analyze this or I may never do it.

Levilyla, thanks for the heads up on what book NOT to read, lol!
Shady

Equilibrium did you forget I gave my method on your own thread started Jan 23rd?

Copied the part relevant to growing fern from spore

"It is really very easy, I make my mix with leafy compost, some moss peat, and gritty river soil, so it is very friable. Put in a seed tray, pour boiling water over to sterilise (rescue worms first!). i put the tree fern spore in a heated propogator 68-72F) at the shady back, it is under my kitchen window. You can do it in a warmish room though with a plastic bag over, but might not be successful. the male sporangae (?) terminology may not be correct! needs it wet but not drowned to swim to the female. They make green flat stuff on top, this is when it should be moved for tree ferns. mine was such a mix, 7 leaf types I think, I didn't know how I was going to separate them, so waited until they made some roots, but they didn't like being moved. I left those 2 in the cold greenhouse, shady end, when only a year old and tiny, they like the cool moist air over winter.

I have also grown ferns from Asplenium s. Angustatum, some went black and gungy but i have a tray outside with a few in that are desperate to be moved, I grew them in my greenhouse on the shady side in spring. It has spore on now. Polystichum s. congestum was easy too, did the same, I have just left them to get bigger (really didn't get around to it!), they are now quite strong so is probably best to leave them until bigger roots and stronger crowns, unless of course you want to pot up when still 'livery'. Be careful not to overwater, while ferns like to be moist and well drained, overwatering can rot them, and they do really well in lots of leafy compost, mixed as above."

You are right, I did forget and now I can't find your full set of directions. Feel free to cyber slap me. I remember your photos. You had gorgeous fern photos. It was all of your fern photos that got me wanting to try fern propagation again but I don't remember what thread they were in with the directions.

I started a Journal here a few days ago so that this wouldn't happen. I created an entry for instructional threads and I have one in there on grafting. Can you give me the link to the thread that had all the fern photos in it and the directions so I can add it to my journal?

I also just put this thread on watch because I just realized that leilya has hay scented ferns!

Problem is...I have hay..ostrich (and can't tell for for sure which is which)..also have lots of others all the tall thin ones look alike. Except the cinnamon of course.

Tee he, post photos of the plants here and let people have a go at separating out what is what.

Say, your hosta lined driveway leading up to your home is really spectacular. You should post that photo somewhere over here.

Equilibrium here's the link

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/570470/#new

Ahhh, tucked away in a thread on catalogs! No wonder why I couldn't find the darn thread.

Ooops, I made a mistake. The notes I started keeping on instructional threads are in My Garden Diary. I'm not too good at using that yet. Seems as if it takes a lot of poking around to figure out how to even get to my Journal or to my Diary areas and even then when I get there, I have difficulty figuring out how to edit or add. I think I need to work with it a little bit more.

when they come up..I will

Oh, that's right... they'd be dormant right now!

every hardy fern that I started has germinated or spored or who knows, the easiest was Athyrium Nipponicum Pictum, I have hundreds. I didn't know it would be so easy. the next one I want to do is Dicksonia Antarctica, if mine will just give me some spores this year. the big thing in sowing the spores is everything must be sterile!!! sterile!!!! you get the picture I used plastic clamshell boxes and african violet mix, then put them over a heat mat, I had sporlings in less than a month but they vary in size (growth rate) according to species. lol hostajim1

My tree ferns get tons of spore, it's not easy to scrape off, but it threw everywhere and set in a tray i had nearby anyway, in the greenhouse. It prefers the cold moist atmosphere there, I had a tray with some in inside, when we started to have the heating on it started to dry so I put a plastic bag over, then the cat tipped it up! Those in the greenhouse are doing well! They are very hardy, possibly Cyathea brownii, not sure of the other one as it's thinner trunked, could be C australis but the fronds are similar on both, I don't know if they alter when older.

I think this is C brownii

This is the other with new fronds

How many different species do you grow?

Your photos are awesome!

ThaT's the only 2 tree ferns, the rest didn't survive (the ferny leaf ones) I have lots of other ferns, I'd have to count them up, too many to do off my head! Late here, zzzzzzzzzzzz

They are in very large pots, need huge ones this year. Only 5 years I think now, they are very quick growing and already have short trunks. I had a pair of frogs living in them!

Did you get a photo of your fern frog friends? Gosh, say that three x fast!

Yes i got quite a few pics, they weren't always together but I did get some of them in the middle together, a bit hard to see all of them but one is laying over the other. I needed a ladder, couldn't quite see from my angle so it was a bit hit and miss!

I had left a foil dish on the pot with spore in and it got water in, this frog regularly had a bath. They often sat one each to a fern heart, but mostly just the one on the fern, the other hid elsewhere in the pots, probably the female. I got a fright more than once picking up a pot, frog jumping off!

Forgive me, I don't see well and I've just realized my monitor is dark compared to other monitors. I took your first photo and I lightened it up so people could see your frog friend better-

Wallaby! You gotta start a thread of just your fern photos for the fern fanatics out here!

Oh heck maybe, so busy keeping up! Gotta go shopping, catcha later. That pic is a bit too faint on mine, i have a tint but not dark. I also have toads, picked up a pot once with 'nothing' in it, saw a 'stone' wondering where that had come from! It was a toad! i screamed, it was scared stiff, i just put it back!

I love toads!

I've had baby toads around for years, imagine one about 1/2" long! I've come across a young one hiding in my cell trays, last year there was a baby frog and a baby toad on a north facing bank I have with good cover for them, but too much to hide under to get a pic.

My old bathtub I use as a pond is next to the bank, so they must use it. I did get a pic of a very light coloured frog I disturbed at the top edge of it when I pulled out some adventuring grass.

This message was edited Mar 10, 2006 9:07 PM

Some of the tree frogs we have around here are very tiny. Not quite as small as 1/2" but somewhere around an inch.

Here's an interesting site I found-
http://www.forestferns.co.uk/propagation.htm

That site describes about the same methods, I did read up on it somewhere once.

Funny the spelling errors, like 'will stop the plant rooting (rotting) if it gets too wet!

The little toads and frogs are only babies and will grow, it is so funny to see a baby toad that can hardly jump, it brings out the mothering instinct!

EQ, I haven't stopped long enough to figure out the Garden Diary or Journal yet - but what I do anytime I find something (a thread with information in it, a plant photo or a new plant to put on my wish list) is send MYSELF a Dmail :) I use the subject line to identify why I saved the info and it's much easier for me to look it up in my own mail instead of scrolling through posts - maybe this might help you?

Oh oh oh! I am going to go and try to D-Mail myself. If I can D-Mail myself, I can create a folder back there in D-Mail for instructional threads that would be a lot easier for me to get to than the diary or the journal. I am still having problems with both of those. User errors no doubt. Thanks rcn, let me go and try it now.

!!!!!!!! IT WORKED !!!!!!!!

Duh!

Thank you rcn!

Hi all,
I have been really busy here so I just have a moment to catch up. I was at Hosta College this past weekend, and Oh what fun. I heard a talk on Fern presented by Jim Wilkins, it was quite good. The one thing I got out of the class was about IDing fern....and just how to figure out if the fern frond is bifinated or whatever.

Wallaby- I am zone envy of your tree ferns! and I love your toad too. A couple years ago we had about 10 different types of toads, or at least they all looked very different. I don't know how much location (within a couple of acres) can make a difference in coloring/sixze eyes...I wish I had taken pictures. They sure are fun to look at.
rcn- I like your idea of sending yourself Dmail!
EQ- great link-I printed article, I am starting to collect articles and picking uplittle tips from all of them, as to how I decided just how to do it.

Got to go, Shady