Life

The Casual Gardener: Ancient ferns are just the ticket if it's exoticism you're after

Bring some exoticism into your home with a fern

A selection of ferns suitable as houseplants
A selection of ferns suitable as houseplants A selection of ferns suitable as houseplants

WE TEND to treasure ornamental plants because they bring a bit of exoticism into our lives. Bright colours, ornate flowers and extraordinary foliage appeal to our instincts, fuel our imagination, and provide a brief glimpse of a life less mundane.

Oddly enough, it’s a plant that is common and widely regarded as ordinary that has such an effect on me. Walk to your nearest woodland or hedgerow and there’s a strong likelihood you’ll encounter a fern. It could be a hart’s tongue fern (Phyllitis scolopendrium), a shuttlecock (Matteuccia struthiopteris) or a rustyback (Asplenium ceterach) rooted in the mortar of a stone wall.

My garden is replete with ferns, these primordial plants that thrived on Earth thousands of years before mankind appeared. But I also like them inside the house as they are great plants for a shadier spot indoors, having evolved over millennia so they’re perfectly at home under a canopy.

From bushy to stylised, and from dark green to silvery grey-green, ferns come in many forms with leaves that can also vary considerably. One has curls, another more feather-like, and a third has no frills at all. Together they form an attractive group of evergreen plants that also help keep the air in the home healthy.

Ferns are among the world’s oldest plants. Fossil remains have been found dating back around 420 million years, and for a long time (tree) ferns were the most common plant on the planet's surface. Seams of coal are made up of the residue of dead ferns, among other things. There are some 10,000 different species that grow anywhere that gets some rain. Only in deserts and locations with permanent snow are there no ferns in the landscape. The ferns used as house plants come from tropical and subtropical regions.

Ferns propagate themselves by means of spores. Spore casings are usually located on the underside of the leaf: along veins, on leaf edges, on the end of the leaf or scattered. Once the spore casings are ripe, they burst open and the spores are dropped on the damp places where ferns naturally grow.

The most popular ferns for use as house plants are the staghorn fern (Platycerium), bird’s nest fern (Asplenium), deersfoot fern (Davallia), blue star fern (Phlebodium), maidenhair fern (Adiantum), holly fern (Cyrtomium), brake fern and ribbon fern (Pteris), and cliffbrake fern (Pellaea). Species with harder and tougher foliage are easier to look after because they lose less moisture through evaporation. Bird’s nest ferns and staghorn ferns are best suited for use as hanging ferns.

When sourcing your fern look for a plant that is in proportion to the pot, as the plant must be adequately damp. Small pot sizes in particular dry out quickly. Plants that have been left dry for too long will quickly suffer from shed leaves, dry leaves or brown leaf edges. The plants must be free of yellow foliage, though be aware that the staghorn fern’s grey-brown leaf is part of the plant.

Ferns like some light, but not full sun. Ensure you don’t water into the plant but on to the soil, and ensure that the soil is always damp. They'll do well in a spot with high humidity like the kitchen or the bathroom but if locating in a room with dry air, place the planter in an attractive bowl with water that can evaporate around the plant.

They'll benefit from an occasional spraying or misting, and a feed very few weeks during the growing season.