Hello all,
Im new to ferns and mosses and have been playing with them down the side of my house which seems to be the perfect place for the natives. This is my first fern purchase "Tiger Fern" Nephrolepis exaltata.
I love variegated plants and this fits the bill all too well.
Does anybody else have pictures of variegated ferns.
Thanks for posting the detailed pic.
That kind of variegation is a delight up close!
Robert.
I discovered this one in my search online.
Variegated Oak Leaf Fern
Seems to be very rare
Anybody seen it?
Ooooohhh I like that one, the Tiger Fern.
Like the other one too. LOL
Susan
=^..^=
Oh, that one's lovely too!
Robert.
Kay West,
I only have one variegated fern which is called 'The Japanese painted fern' or its botanical name : 'Athyrium niponicum Pictum'. It grows outside in my garden in full shade (West European climate, still don't know how to figure out in what zone I'm living) . It seems that when planted in lighter shade, like with a few hours sun in the morning it shows more vibrant colours.
Bonitiin
That's a very nice fern. I love the silver grey. Is that new growth tufts on the end or is that just the shape of the leaf.
As for the Zone you are in , its hard to translate the USDA zones to Europe because the variation in Summer and winter Temps, tends to be much greater over here. Mostly it refers to the minimum temps. in winter
ie.
Hardiness of the plants to withstand low temps.
USDA Zone 5a: to -28.8° C (-20° F)
USDA Zone 5b: to -26.1° C (-15° F)
USDA Zone 6a: to -23.3° C (-10° F)
USDA Zone 6b: to -20.5° C (-5° F)
USDA Zone 7a: to -17.7° C (0° F)
USDA Zone 7b: to -14.9° C (5° F)
USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2° C (10° F)
So if you check your minimum Temps in winter in your area it may give you an indication of what zone you might fall under if it applied. If it rarely goes much below freezing iin your area you would be maybe Z6b or Z7a
Neil
celt,
What cool ferns. I'm new to ferns also. Had somr that I dug up from the woods and they took over one whole bed. So, I'm kinda shy when it comes to putting in ferns. I have gotten some this year that my friends say are clumping. Hope they are. LOL
Celt33040,
The tufts at the end of the leaves only appeared this year, and I have the fern now over 4 years.
I have another of the same specie in a pot that doesn't make these tufts. So I suppose it could be a natural mutation ?
Thanks so much for the information about climate zones!
I have two Japanese ferns growing in a fullshade flowerbed. I understand that as they mature, they take on a silvery, glowey kinda characteristic that makes them stand out in the dark of the shade garden. Really cool!
bonitin~
Wonderful cresting on your JapanesePainted fern! Thanks for sharing.
Robert.
I once saw one that thad a blue sheen almost mist effect in bright light.
My Tiger has what looks like arial roots or maybe stems of a dead leaf/frond . Can i chop them for a neater appearance or are they nesacarry?
Any body know what results in daker green leaf color ?
You can chop the aerial roots off with no harm to your fern.
That's just its way of vegetatively propagating itself. You can place the "runners" around on top of the soil in the pot or place them on top of the soil in another pot to make more clones of your fern. Course that makes it all less neat though, doesn't it.........
Not sure I understand the question about darker leaf coloring.....A well-fed (good supply of nitrogen and iron) fern in proper lighting will have the most appropriately green color for it's type. Ferns tend to become lighter in color as light levels increase. Some ferns will be lighter in direct light while being a deeper green in indirect light. Some people will give epsom salt to green up a faded or pale fern that they've just purchased that may not have been fed recently, etc.
Is this what you're asking about?
Robert.
Exactly
Thanks's. A lot og the leaves I have are a bit washed out looking. Ill try some salts.
Thanks Neil
BTW~
In propagating from the aerial roots, they should still be attached to the fern, not cut off. It sounds like I meant you could root them after cutting, which I don't know about, but it might work....
I've also noticed some ferns will fade when under high heat conditions too.
Robert.
