Thelypteris Species, Japanese Beech Fern

This normal-looking-at-a-distance and weird-close-up fern has been easier than anything in my tough North Texas climate. It seems to tole...Read Morerate a wide range of lighting conditions and grows strong but has not shown any signs of weediness yet. It hasn’t flinched at 110 F or -2 F, and while it currently lives in fluffy rich draining heaven soil, it seems to do equally well in clay with occasional water. I grew mine from spores which I am pretty sure either came from NW Little Rock, AR or from similarly NW of Wisconsin Dells. Spores took about 13 months to finally form a garden-sized plant, but subsequent growth rate has been comparable to Athyrium sp. for me. During propagation the prothallia were exposed to 1200 lux of 6000k at 10” on a slightly variable 18 hour cycle.

I bought this beautiful fern two years ago. It has always returned the following spring more beautiful than the year before. I live in Ch...Read Moreattanooga, Tn and it is 18-20 inches tall on 6/8/2015. Getting bigger but invasive it doesn't seem to be. Love it. Sorry you have had bad luck with your attempts to grow this beauty.

Over the last 6 or so years, I have tried a total of 14 of these plants from a variety of sources. Many have flourished during the summe...Read Morer but none of them has survived the winter in spite of being described as hardy to zone 4. I'm successfully growing some pretty fussy ferns, so I'm wondering if Japanese beech fern is not as hardy as claimed.

An update. Last year I bought 3 more JBF's, this time from Big Dipper. DOA. They replaced them, but the ferns haven't yet appeared this spring. Meanwhile, I got one from Venero, a local nursery (attempt # 24, I think--talk about stubborn! and foolish). And it's back! And spreading! Obviously the source is critical.

Well, I divided them and they did well during the summer and then didn't return. Now (June 2013) I've just purchased 3 more (good heavens, will I never learn?) from a big box store, no less: very vigorous-looking...but time will tell. I'll keep you posted, but I have a feeling no one out there cares about Japanese beech ferns...

Native to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, India, Thailand, and Vietnam.