Fern growing question

[LovelyLadyLux]

@Grandad - I know you've said your garden containers have ferns. I'd never grown them but cause yours looked so good I bought a couple 4" ones last year and they really grew well (think I even posted photos on here as to how full and lovely they looked).

The hostas do extremely well in all the pots and planters all yr round so I figured the ferns would too but (didn't take a photo of it) one died outright and the two remaining are not looking too great

This little guys was gorgeous last summer. Called "Autumn Fern" as all the new foliage comes out red. Initially this year I thought it was new foliage (guess I didn't look too close) but instead the brownish coloured fronds were dead.

Question is - what you winter your ferns so you cut off all the growth so that come spring all new fronds pop out fresh? Or do you leave the old stuff on there? (I left all the old stuff on there)



This is another Autumn Fern (just the name - no association with fall) and it is doing better but just looked be-draggled.



Any thoughts on what I should do? I'm of a mind that your ferns grow each year - you're not planting new ferns every year, right?

Am hoping these will perk up cause they looked exceptional last year but so far this year they're not vigorously growing and the nursery I bought these at doesn't have any ferns in this year.

[Horus]

LLL, I always hack mine back to the crown every Autumn as they die back, the other thing is that particular variety (I don't know its name) always seems to do the worst of all my ferns, they are quite a small variety to start with, maybe try sticking the clump into the open ground for a couple of years to give it a boost.

[Mad Dilys]

I've been looking for a good sized Stag's Horn Fern for ages. They grow so slowly I don't want a small one. I've recently found some on line, but pretty pricy at about £40 with postage.

I'll concentrate on getting the Hoyas, Bella and Carnosa in plain and variegated for my new climber collection. Such lovely plants with strong honey smell and very long lived.

We have a family plant that must be about 40 years old now. It belonged first to my Mum, who took a cutting from my sister's plant, shoved it into a pot of clay soil, kept it in a darkish room and broke all the rules, but it thrived. When she came to live with me the Hoya came too. In time I gave it to my best friend that I lived with when I first went to Egypt. When she died I gave it to my youngest daughter, who returned it after 3 months saying she couldn't bear the responsibility!

It is now with a very old friend who is a marvellous gardener and I'm happy.