Needed: Suggestions for Fern Leaf Propagation

Hi all,
There is an old house in the neighborhood that is going to be demolished soon. Under the overgrown yard and weeds, there are some very antique-looking mature plants that are just beautiful. I would hate for those plants and all of their memories to be demolished along with the charm of the old abandoned house.

We went over tonight thinking we would get several small root balls and plants to start from, however the ground is extremely hard from being so dry. About that time, the dusky summer sky seemed to suddenly change to midnight-black. Alas, so far all I managed to bring home was about 6-8 sword fern plumes. (At least I think that's the type...very long, grows about 2-3ft high or so, more of a dryer leaf type that has darker green plumes with some silvery/brown leathery edges in places) I was hoping they came with some rootball but all I can see is what might have been just next to a rootsytem. (brown, with hair-like feelers feathering off of the very bottom part of the plume stem. Right now I have this portion of the plumes soaking in water. Any suggestions? (too dark for a photo right now) Thanks to all!

Do the leaves have ripe spores underneath ?
If yes then you could try to propagate the ferns with these.
Although you would need a lot of patience for them to grow to full glory.

It is difficult to know how much you managed to get from the root ball without a photo. But you could try with some leaves to cut them to 1third of its length and plant it in soil special for sowing and cuttings. Moisture the soil and cover with plastic, put it in a light place but out of the sun until you see a sign of new life developping, then you can remove the plastic.

I think you should go back there with some decent tools to dig out the beautiful ferns and any other treasures. It would be indeed a shame to let them being destroyed during the demolition of the house !
This is certainly what I would do in your case!
If you know the owners of the house, then you could contact them and they might be glad to let you save the ferns.