fern of the month 2007

February 4, 2008

Fern of the Month 2007

january 2007	february 2007	march 2007	april 2007	may 2007
*june 2007*	*july 2007*	*august 2007*	*september 2007*	*october 2007*
*november 2007*	*december 2007*

Fern of the Month - January 2007
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Dicksonia antartica is included here as it has been grown from very young sporelings. Now it is a descent sized plant with a small trunk. Four sporelings were bought 8 years ago from a nursery in Harlech. Three survive, all are reasonable size, this specimen being the best.

Fern of the Month - February 2007
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Dryopteris neorosthornii is closely related to Dryopteris wallichiana. This is a particularly beautiful fern which is unfortunately rare in cultivation in the UK. The plants grown in this garden are derived from sporelings grown from spore collected in Nepal. The good news is that this year some of the fronds are fertile so that fresh spore can be collected.

Fern of the Month - March 2007
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Osmunda japonica is often described as being very similar to our own Osmunda regalis. It is however quite distinct from this species and is a useful addition to a fern garden. It is seldom grown in the UK and this plant has come from a German nursery.

Fern of the Month - April 2007
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Polystichum aff. neolobatum is a wonderful fern collected by Bleddyn of Crug Farm Plants. This was collected from spore in a botanical hot bed near Baoxing (Mupin), China at 2000m. This evergreen fern grew in fairly dense moist forest with exceptionally long narrow fronds to 1m by 10cm. There are four plants growing in the garden and it throws it's fronds much earlier than the true Polystichum neolobatum. The true P. neolobatum is only now (June 9th) unfurling its fronds.

Fern of the Month - May 2007
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Aracchniodes miqueliana is now settling down well producing its beautiful lacy fronds from a creeping rhizome. It is growing in an ericaceous compost and hopefully in the near future divisions can be made from its creeping rhizomes. This plant has been sourced from Germany but is a native of China, Japan and Korea.

Plant of the Month - June 2007
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Deparia conilii is an attractive creeper. At the moment the colony is just establishing and beginning to run. This is a fern of moist woods in Japan and Korea.

Fern of the month - July 2007
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Polystichum setiferum 'Hirondelle' is said to be extinct by Martin Rick on p. 152 of his 'The Plantfinder's Guide to Garden Ferns'. He found a very similar form at Chardstock in Devon in 1980 which he calls 'Chardstock'. Originally this was found by Moly in Dorset at around 1870. In the true form, the pinnae viewed as pairs, either side of the midrib, can be likened to the silhouette of a swallow - hence 'Hirondelle', the French for swallow. Is this the 'true' form?

Fern of the month - August 2007
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Polystichum xiphophyllum is said to be a rare species from China, Taiwan, and India. This is a young plant originating from a British Pteridological Society spore distribution. There are several plants in this garden and seems so far to do well in shady conditions on the side of some steps.

Fern of the month -September 2007
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Fern of the month - October 2007
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Fern of the month - November 2007
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Fern of the month - December 2007
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