Guides / Ferns and mosses
Ferns and mosses
Non-flowering plants with fronds, mossy mats or cushions.
A
Aleutian Maidenhair
Adiantum aleuticum
How to grow Adiantum aleuticum, the Aleutian or western maidenhair fern, a cool woodland fern with fan-spread fronds on black stems.
Australian Tree Fern
Cyathea cooperi
How to grow Australian tree fern, Cyathea cooperi, outdoors or under glass. Watering the trunk itself, winter protection, and its fast growth rate.
B
Bear's-Foot Fern
Humata tyermanii
How to grow bear's-foot fern, Humata tyermanii. Rhizomes covered in silvery-white fur that creep over the pot rim, and how to tell it apart from Davallia.
Blue star fern
Phlebodium aureum
How to care for Phlebodium aureum. The blue-grey epiphytic fern that forgives dry air where a maidenhair would not, why the furry rhizome must stay on the surface, and the best first fern to try.
Blunt-Leaved Bog Moss
Sphagnum palustre
How to grow blunt-leaved bog moss, Sphagnum palustre, in a bog garden or for carnivorous plant compost. Water quality, light, and why tap water kills it.
Bracken
Pteridium aquilinum
How to identify and control bracken, Pteridium aquilinum. The commonest fern in the world, the carcinogen in the spores, and why bruising the fronds is the trick.
Brittle Bladder Fern
Cystopteris fragilis
How to grow brittle bladder fern, Cystopteris fragilis. A tiny, extremely cold-hardy species for rock crevices and old walls, and why it vanishes each summer.
Broadleaf Maidenhair
Adiantum latifolium
How to grow Adiantum latifolium, the broadleaf maidenhair fern, a vigorous tropical fern with broad diamond pinnae and a colony-forming habit.
Button fern
Pellaea rotundifolia
How to care for Pellaea rotundifolia. The New Zealand fern with round leathery buttons instead of lace, why it takes drier air than other ferns, and the one thing it will not forgive.
C
Chain Fern
Woodwardia radicans
How to grow chain fern, Woodwardia radicans. Large arching fronds that root new plantlets at the tip, borderline hardiness, and a Mediterranean origin.
Common Haircap Moss
Polytrichum commune
How to establish common haircap moss, Polytrichum commune, in a moss garden. Its tall, wiry stems, and why patience matters more than any feeding routine.
Common Liverwort
Marchantia polymorpha
What common liverwort, Marchantia polymorpha, needs to spread across damp pots and paths, and how to stop it colonising a greenhouse or nursery bed.
F
Fan Maidenhair
Adiantum tenerum
How to grow Adiantum tenerum, the fan maidenhair fern, a delicate tropical fern with fan-shaped leaflets on wiry black stems that loves warmth.
Field horsetail
Equisetum arvense
How to identify and control horsetail, Equisetum arvense. The prehistoric weed with roots two metres deep, why weedkillers slide off it, and what does help.
Fragrant fern
Microsorum punctatum
How to care for Microsorum punctatum. The upright strap fern with no scent despite the name, why the crested forms cost more, and how it grows on bark without soil.
H
Hard Fern
Blechnum spicant
How to grow hard fern, Blechnum spicant, in acidic shaded ground. Its two distinct frond types, and why it struggles on chalky soil.
Hare's foot fern
Davallia canariensis
How to care for Davallia canariensis. The Mediterranean fern that sheds its fronds in a dry summer and grows them back, why it takes a cold room, and how it differs from the Fijian one.
Hart's tongue fern
Asplenium scolopendrium
How to care for Asplenium scolopendrium. The hardy native fern with undivided strap fronds, why the spore lines run in herringbone stripes, and where it grows that other ferns cannot.
M
Maidenhair Spleenwort
Asplenium trichomanes
How to grow Asplenium trichomanes, the maidenhair spleenwort, a hardy little fern with round pinnae on wiry black stems that likes rock and lime.
Male Fern
Dryopteris filix-mas
How to grow male fern, Dryopteris filix-mas. It tolerates dry shade under trees where most ferns fail, the rhizome's history as a vermifuge carries a poisoning margin too narrow to risk, and the name has nothing to do with sex.
R
Resurrection Plant
Selaginella lepidophylla
How to grow resurrection plant, Selaginella lepidophylla. A desert spikemoss that curls into a dry ball and unfurls green again within hours of rewetting.
Royal Fern
Osmunda regalis
How to grow royal fern, Osmunda regalis, beside a pond or in a bog garden. Its unusual fertile fronds, and why it needs permanently wet soil.
S
Scaly Male Fern
Dryopteris affinis
How to grow scaly male fern, Dryopteris affinis, in shade. Its russet-scaled croziers, tolerance of dry shade, and near-evergreen habit.
Sensitive Fern
Onoclea sensibilis
How to grow sensitive fern, Onoclea sensibilis. Hardy wetland spread, the frost-sensitive fronds it is named for, and its odd bead-like winter fertile fronds.
Silver Lace Fern
Pteris ensiformis
How to grow Pteris ensiformis, the silver lace fern, a compact variegated brake fern with slender fronds banded down the centre in silvery white.
Soft Shield Fern
Polystichum setiferum
How to grow soft shield fern, Polystichum setiferum, in a shaded border. Its finely divided evergreen fronds, and why it tolerates dry shade so well.
Soft Tree Fern
Dicksonia antarctica
How to grow soft tree fern, Dicksonia antarctica. Watering has to reach the crown and trunk surface rather than just the soil, and the single growing point needs frost protection that the fibrous trunk itself does not.
Southern Maidenhair Fern
Adiantum capillus-veneris
How to grow Adiantum capillus-veneris, the southern maidenhair fern, hardier than the houseplant maidenhairs but needing constant moisture.
Spikemoss
Selaginella kraussiana
How to care for Selaginella kraussiana. Humidity, low light, constant moisture and growing it in a closed jar or terrarium.
Stag's-Horn Clubmoss
Lycopodium clavatum
How to grow stag's-horn clubmoss, Lycopodium clavatum. An ancient lycophyte, not a fern or moss, whose spores were once used as flash powder and pill coating.
W
Whisk Fern
Psilotum nudum
How to grow whisk fern, Psilotum nudum. A rootless, leafless relict lineage instead of a true fern, and its long history as a Japanese bonsai companion plant.
White Cushion Moss
Leucobryum glaucum
How to grow white cushion moss, Leucobryum glaucum, in a shaded rockery or moss garden. Its pale colour when dry, and why it dislikes lime.
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