Advise for fern to grow in hot area...

I live in Mesa AZ. I have a fully shaded north yard that I will putting some large containers in with cast iron plant, red abbysynian (sic) banana, and a want some ferns.

question: what ferns can best tolerate high heat in a shaded environment?

That's a toughie and I have no suggestions: I would think your dry air would pose the greatest problem. Any of the lowland tropicals could possibly stand the heat but suffer from the aridity.

You might try a fern ally, Sellaginella lepidophylla, the so-called "Resurrection Fern".

http://amerfernsoc.org/growdry.html

Good luck.

Robert.




This message was edited Aug 24, 2006 12:20 AM

Thx. I have a good drip system with multiple zones / hoses and was planning on having that area (at least in the summer) misted every hour or so, and the fern in particular watered from the crown down. In theory that would help keep the humidity somewhat higher than 'normal', although time will tell. I will see if I can get the species you mentioned to grow in my patio from fall thru spring and see how it fares. Thx again Robert!

I've been looking for specific Xerophytic ferns but have only found some starting points for you. There are articles that only speak generally of growing xerophytic ferns, but they don't name specific ones. :-(

Look for specific species in these genera which are mostly xerophytic:
Actiniopteris, Cheilanthes, Doryopteris, Notholaena, Pellaea, and Pityrogramma.

These might benifit from higher humidty, but because they are from dry areas, they can be overwatered, especially during dormancy which may occur during the heat of summer. They go dormant naturally at that time in order to survive drought. In culture however, they might continue in growth as you will be providing the moisture their natural habitat would lack.

Here's a place to start looking:
http://www.hardyfernlibrary.com/ferns/

Then there's Google.

Robert.

u da man

pheitmeyer~

How's the search going?

Argyrochosma microphylla (Small-leaved cloak fern) is a SW US native and occurs in high light and sandy soil.........

Robert.

I had done some searching and nothing looked like a fit. I'll check that one out you mentioned.

I have a lot of ferns here in So Cal, and most seem 'ok' if you can keep them wet, and definitely OUT of the sun. Then the heat seems to be tolerated for the most part (and we had many days well into the hundreds here, including one to 120F). ONe that seems to hate life even if out of the sun is Dicksonia squarrosa. But I am not having any problem with most of the common Platyceriums, and Cyatheas seem OK as long as the sun doesnt touch them and you wet them 2-3 times a day. As for smaller ferns, which I am less interested in, all I have grown so far are doing fine in deep shade and haven't even looked stressed. There are a lot of species that are impossible out here, but there are at least 20-30 that do well here.

Palmbob,
I have a Dicksonia Antarctica (Tasmanian Treefern), that was quite pricey ($30). It started off well, in a shady corner of the patio, then, it started languishing, almost down to nothing. I have been struggling to keep this thing going. Part of the problem was keeping the soil consistently moist (which I wasn't doing). I read it's better to give it a little water over a longer period of time, than a lot of water all at once, so I"ve been pouring a little on whenever I think about it. I also moved it from the corner out where it gets more of a breeze. I noticed two days ago there's a new frond opening up, and today I saw another one. I hope this means something good is happening. I also read that, just like the name implies, this fern actually likes the colder weather and is good up to about 25-15 degrees F. Let's hope this cool front passing through Houston (it was 88 degrees yesterday) will give it what it wants.

Let me know if you have any further insight on Dicksonia Antarctica. I truly prize this furry Tasmanian devil!

Thanks!

I am looking for a 'tree' type fern, as the low ferns don't interest me. That stinks that the Dicksonia squarrosa sounds like a no-go here, as it looks really cool. I'll have to keep looking or give it up :)

I finally gave up on a 'tree-type fern' and instead settled for non-exotic australian sword fern. It's in my new north planter. My big plant(s) here will be the majesty palm eventually the upright elephant ear.

close up

Tree ferns need more than watering the soil! In fact, you can rot one if you water too much. The trunk of a tree fern IS its roots, too... and those have to be kept moist. So you need to water the entire plant, not just the soil. Most successful fern growers here in the hotter areas of So Cal use drip systems and wrap their trunks with them, or run them up the backs, and have the drips going on/off all day long, either the entire length, or more often, just at the top, and let the water trickle down. Works great! I have to say I have only done this myself but a few times as I am not 'drip-savy'. But I did wrap a few ferns at a previous residence, and drip them all day long on hot days, and though I wasn't crazy about the look of the drip lines (most others take more time and 'hide' them), but have to say those plants never even wilted (were not in ANY direct sunlight, though). Now I have no shade where I live and sun bakes the living green out of so much it's terrible... but they are not dying (I water them 1-2x a day- the trunks) and right now that it is finally cooler, they are doing great again (will take a long time before they look good again, though... probably about 8 months, when it will be time for the sun to bake them again.... sigh).

Here is my Cyathea Brentwood in early summer

and here it is again a month later just after we hit 120F

but here are a few leaves from my C medularis, which I was more successful at keeping from the sun... looks perfect, though slow

Here are some Cyatheas in summer in Pasadena, and it gets over 100F about 20-30 days a summer there... of course, they get sprinklered every single day with copious water, and twice daily if needed there.

and Dicksonia antarcticas seem even more tolerant than Cyatheas, so don't give up on them. Here are some in LA that look great in this photo (early summer) but got fried to bits in July this summer (most lost all their leaves) but are coming back already- get sprinklered daily, too.

This Davillia has survived 4 baking hot summers so far, and though is no beauty, it seems to get a tad hardier every year... this even gets some sun. I do water it daily in high heat situations, though.

and these two ferns actually do well in blazing heat (Asplenium goudeyi, and the lower one I can't remember the name of right now) as long as kept out of direct blasting sun. Still, gotta water frequently in the heat, but they even tolerate drying out pretty regularly.

but nothing beats these Platyceriums veitchiis for high heat/sun tolerance in the fern family (for me)... never look bad, not matter what.

And actually this Platycerium superbum also hasn't had any difficulty, though it only gets minimal late afternoon sun.

Nice pics! Maybe I'll get a Dicksonia antarcticas mail order and try it. I have plenty of drip available and can mist also if needed. Thx for the 411 PalmBob!

Great info palm and pheit.

Nice "purty-ferns". (Don't ask.)

Thanks.

Robert.

Just ordered one, along with a few cool companion plants (Venus Maidenhair, Arum, &
Bugleweed) for a nice shade patio container. Someday it will be big!

I think any fern thats indigenous to Australia might work as long as the understory of the area where you plant them creates a kind of micro climate for the plant...
When you say fully shaded are you talking shade from the house, or shade from overhead trees? Humidity is a central requrement for any fern...so under trees might be a better placement, or even better, if you can plant them around a "created" pond under trees...
Heres a site that might help you chose what might work in your area.

http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/APOL9/mar98-4.html

also I found this other site for a friend who lives in Paulden (?) that has some great links that might help you chose

http://www.gardeninginarizona.com/

Handbright, thx for the links!

I have a fountain in my patio that seems to help humidify the area, and the drip emitters and misters on the containers go off 3 times per day. When it's really hot we turn on the patio misting system, so my patio is about as humid as it can be in AZ :) But time will tell!

Perhaps a Cyrtomium would work. Since they have been indoor plants forever they clearly are viable in indoor conditions. In fact, I have found them difficult to kill. Not a tree fern but beautiful all the same.
http://www.bigdipperfarm.com/cgi-bin/searchstuff.pl?Botanical=Cyrtomium

I ended up buying a Tasmanian Tree Fern. I put it in a container in the north garden. Doing great, have a few years to go until it's a tree lol!

pheitmeyer, I bought Kimberley Queen ferns this year. I'll try to remember to post a pic. I had them in full direct sun and in shade and part sun/shade. They are very tough. Did wonderfully all summer. I'm attempting to winter them over. Just keep them watered and they keep performing. I've also heard they do better in a pot (root bound) than in the ground.... just an idea. I picked mine up at a box store.

I have one of those, named the 'Australian Sword Fern' @ home d. Mine is doing well too!

"Botanically, Kimberly Queen is known as Nephrolepis obliterata. It comes from Australia and is known as the Australian sword fern. This has to be one of the most beautiful ferns. Its large fronds are held high and erect and keep their integrity even in wind and rain."