3 Easy and Beautiful Ferns for Shady Garden Borders

[@lawn38]

I’m glad Wallichiana is in your top three as it’s my favourite all time fern! They look so lush and tropical!

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

They are indeed, like miniature tree ferns and so fresh and green!

[@shineamenmbs3107]

Fantastic Dryopteris, so elegant and tough! Pteris umbrosa do look like a tropical plant indeed! Beautiful shape. Thank you George!

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thanks for watching and yes they’re all beautiful plants! I hope you’ve had a great weekend!

[@claireskrine4837]

Thanks, I'm currently trying to green up a very shady London garden and was contemplating ferns so this is really helpful.

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Nice one, thank you Claire! There’s some more ferns and shady planting in my latest POV gardening video if it helps you too.

[@maxthecat14]

I love ferns. I had a wonderful shuttlecock fern in my last garden, but for some reason they will not grow where I live now, and it's only about half a mile away!! All my other ferns grow really well. I have a copper coloured fern, not sure if it's the same as the one you mentioned, but i have it in a pot in full sun and it grows well. I only put it there for a while when I moved in to this house because I had to clear the garden first. It seems happy, so I left it there.

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

They’re great aren’t they! Your experience seems to match up with what I ramble about in my latest POV video, in theory ferns are easy to grow but in reality they definitely seem to decide if they’re happy or not in a certain spot! If they’re happy where they are then leave them be, if the shuttlecocks are struggling then maybe give something else a try ☺️

[@colinwilson7134]

Great video as always George 👏👏 thanks for sharing

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thanks Colin 😃

[@stanleygladstone1210]

Hi George, I bought a plant called royal fern. It came through the post so it's fronds were cut down. It looks as though it grows 5 foot plus tall, and I'm really looking forward to see it next year. Great vid keep em coming. Thanks

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Fantastic, with that height it’ll fit right in! 😃

[@tonycastro9997]

This is great one to look out for. Athyrium Otophorum Okonum for a lightly shaded spot. Foliage is a dark green with red to purple stems. Also mentioned in another post is the Japanese painted ferns to brighten up dark damp areas. Maidenhair ferns also good especially ‘Adiantum Mairisii’ for growing over front of borders. Thanks again for you great weekly videos.

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

They’re lovely ferns, thanks for the suggestions! I have got some of the painted ferns but to me they can clash a bit colour wise whereas the greens are a safe choice 😂 I’ll have a look into those, thanks!

[@ronalddouglas7834]

Thanks

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thanks for watching!

[@oldgold5848]

Gotta have some Japanese painted fern and osmunda regalia as well George.....

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Great choices too. Personally I find the Japanese painted fern a bit tricky to mix in with a lot of plants colour wise but I still grow it, it’s got lovely colours 😃

[@oldgold5848]

@@GeorgesJungleGarden Agreed, but would look good with purple ricinus and dark foliage cannas with red flowers.

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

@@oldgold5848 That’s true 😃

[@danwilson5160]

Great video. I would add Coniogramme emeiensis too, it is similar in needs to the Pteris you mentioned

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thanks, that’s definitely a great looking fern too. Mine didn’t make it through last winter just 2m away from the Pteris so potentially it’s not quite as tough…

[@marymary5494]

I’m originally from your part of the world Nth Lincs, I now live in Nth West Ireland.....here we have loads of ferns growing wild in the hedgerows. I haven’t yet dung any up, but yes I’m very tempted. Thanks for your inspirational videos George. 👌💕

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thank you Mary! That’s interesting to know, it’s a small word! If I lived in a mild Irish climate I’d be tempted to try loads of interesting ferns like at Kells Bay, the climate there is perfect for them 😃

[@marymary5494]

Cheers for your reply@@GeorgesJungleGarden I’m planning a tropical area in my garden for next year with the help of your inspirational videos of course. 👌💕

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

@@marymary5494 Thank you and good luck planning your exciting project! 😃

[@saltlifess6226]

Matteuccia struthiopteris/Ostrich fern is a nice tall fern, extremely hardy

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

That’s a great shout, one I enjoy growing here too. It’s not evergreen but something I look forward to seeing in spring!

[@garygansbrubaker]

T’a for the recommendations. I would recommend the Herrenhausen. Beautiful fronds and they become more impressive with each passing year. I am planting the Dryopteris affinis today, as I live in Oxford and I have a very high brick wall which blocks a lot of the Sun, as it is located along the Southern Wall where it receives protection from the Winter Gales but also will hopefully fill in the back of my brick wall. I would also like to learn how to transplant ferns without damaging the plant. Would you please make a video showing how to do this, please? Looking forward to watching your videos.

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Thanks for watching Gary and for the recommendation, I'll have to check that out! The Dryopteris sounds like it'll do well for you there. I probably won't be transplanting any ferns soon but get as much rootball as possible, avoid doing it during summer and keep it well watered and you should be just fine.

[@garygansbrubaker]

@@GeorgesJungleGarden Absolutely! My British grandfather was a Botanist, and he taught me so much about timing, watering and everything else. He would have given you a thumbs up, mate!

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

@@garygansbrubaker Wow, impressive! Thanks - I wouldn't claim to have anywhere near his knowledge and skill but I'm enjoying sharing my plant journey and seeing where it takes me!

[@craigwagstaff4625]

Ay up George, thanks for getting back to me lve been down Devon for a few days droolin over the echiums and huge palms they can grow down there like weeds😂so lve only just seen your message and fern vid.funnily enough just before we went l split the first fern you featured and made four out of one,l also have the second as well and just split that out of it's pot and put it round a new small pond,one question l do have though is earlier this year l bought two esculenta bulbs one's thrown average sized leaves up and the other absolutely huge leaves ,saying that the smaller one has three visible growing points so can l presume l'm goin get baby bulbs?

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Awesome Craig, it’s definitely an eye opener going down there! Good work on the ferns. As for the colocasia, sometimes you get big leaves from them, others only produce small leaves but they definitely multiply like you say, so you’ll have more to ‘harvest’ this winter! The smaller bulbs can be trickier to overwinter but worth a go.

[@stevenotman4613]

Can a tree fern be planted in the top of a dead trunk with any success? Tia

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Hi, I've seen a number of people do this and in all honesty, it's not the perfect environment for a young tree fern to grow unless possibly in somewhere with a lot of water and humidity. Maybe worth trying ground fern more tolerant of the drier conditions and restricted root run.

[@phil3332]

found out this on the Pteris umbrosa....doesn't like temperatures below - 4 degrees C. Nothing on R.H.S about hardyness

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

I’d say ‘doesn’t like’ is quite accurate, I imagine they look tatty after a hard frost or -2 or so somewhere sheltered. With a bit of straw chucked over them for that cold week in February mine survived a couple of -6 nights and look great now 👍 Like I said though, somewhere sheltered is best as they’re not the hardiest fern and are relatively untried.

[@craigrogers3864]

I've got a Mexican fan palm on the go from seed this summer with 3 or 4 leaves, when mature could it last in the UK? Obviously protecting it now while young.

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

Hi Craig, realistically in 95% plus of the UK you’re going to struggle to get it to a mature size without a lot of protection (but not too much as they need the airflow). It definitely depends on how cold the winters are but unfortunately they’re not a reliably hardy palm here. Dave Brown over at Hardy Tropicals has managed it though and did an interesting article / video on how he’s kept his alive for years!

[@craigrogers3864]

@@GeorgesJungleGarden Thanks George ⭐

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

@@craigrogers3864 No worries, I’d rather be straight up with you!

[@Man-cv5ws]

Will 2,4D kill ferns?

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

I've no idea unfortunately but personally I don't use or condone the use of any weedkillers in the garden.

[@Man-cv5ws]

@@GeorgesJungleGarden I sprayed a bank that has lots of ferns and poison oak. I will know in a few days I guess.

[@GeorgesJungleGarden]

@@Man-cv5ws Oh right, I understand. They’re a tough group of plants when they’ve naturalised somewhere and I wouldn’t be surprised if they re-emerge from the ground in time.