I saw this handsome fern, Asplenium cristatum, at the RHS garden centre in Harlow Carr today whilst mooching around, like I do. I love ferns but I don't have the space for monsters and if I buy one at all it will have to be a little something that will tolerate some sun. This one demands partial or full shade. Although I have a north-facing garden border which is quite shady in winter, during spring and summer when the ferns are up out of the ground and confronting the elements, that border still manages to get some hours of serious sunshine and I don't know that many ferns will tolerate that.
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| Shade loving Asplenium cristatum |
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| Asplenium cristatum sporangia |
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Asplenium cristatum sporangia after releasing most
of the brown spores |
One fern that I grow that tolerates sunshine is Dryopteris filix-mas 'Euxinensis'. I am growing mine in a large terracotta pot and it receives partial shade, that is to say that it gets early morning sunshine all year around and by 10a.m. to 1 p.m. (depending upon the time of year) it is in the shade. It is very happy and very healthy.
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| Dryopteris filix-mas 'Euxinensis' |
