Jun Hi, 1906 



HORTICULTURE 



769 



Filmy Ferns 



Hymenophyllum Demissum 



Todea Pellucida 

 (Hymenophylloldes.) 



Trichomanes Radicans 



We spoke in a few articles about the most desirable 

 ferns for general use; the list is far from being com- 

 plete, but there are many, such as gymnogramma, 

 gleichenia, cheilanthus, pelltea and others which are 

 more properly collection plants. We close our little 

 review with a few words on filmy ferns. 



Filmy ferns are certainly the most delicate and the 

 most interesting things to grow in dwelling rooms 

 where they grow luxuriantly and require very little care. 

 They have naturally to be grown under glass bells or 

 glass cases and in a place where the sun can not strike 

 them; they can be grown in pots or planted in a little 

 rockery. Being slow growers and keeping their old 

 fronds for years, when once planted and not disturbed, 

 they will last and prosper for a long time. The box or 

 pan or jardiniere which is to be covered with the bell 

 glass or glass case has to be lined with zinc and filled 

 with broken stones; if grown in pots these pots are put 

 on top and the space between filled out with clean moss. 

 If a little rockery has to be built, the stones are cov- 

 ered with a layer of turfy soil and the stone work built 

 over it. These stones have to be sandstone or other 

 porous stones which will absorb the moisture easily 

 and where the rootstalks can climb. A few pieces of 

 cork bark can be mixed with it. The whole construc- 

 tion has to be made with taste. Little soil has to be 

 used and that must be porous. Sandy peat is the best. 

 Once planted, a little fresh moss can be added, then 

 the bottom is tilled with water and the glass cover put 

 tightly over it. They have to be let alone; there is no 

 need "whatever to lift the glass cover, only when it is 

 necessary to put fresh water in the bottom and that is 

 seldom the case, the condensed evaporation dropping 

 back, except what is absorbed by the plants. Filmy 

 ferns have been grown that way with better success than 

 in greenhouses where it is generally too warm and where 

 a special corner has not been prepared for them. 



Filmy ferns are found in nature growing in cool sit- 

 uations' surrounded by very damp atmosphere. New 

 Zealand and Australia are their headquarters. Some 

 are found in the Andes of Chili, in the mountains of 

 East and West Indies, a few in the United States or in 

 Europe. Those from Central America and South Sea 



Islands require more heat. They are found climbing 

 on the foot of tree ferns and over fallen trees; some 

 creep in the moss, some grow over damp roots. The 

 todeas are the only ones which grow in decayed wood 

 and leaf mould. A little cool cave or a miniature 

 ravine built in a corner of a conservatory where mois- 

 ture enough can be obtained and planted with filmy 

 ferns is a sight never to be forgotten. 



A good way to grow them also is a pit three to four 

 feet deep, with cement bottom to keep one or two inches 

 of water, covered with sashes a little higher than the 

 surrounding ground. A rock work can be built in it, 

 but growing in pots is handier on account of the rela- 

 tively small place, and they do not like to be disturbed. 

 If pots are used half pots are the best, and they have to 

 be put on bricks or reversed pots to keep them out of 

 the water. That pit must be built on a shady north side 

 or under a big spreading tree; in winter it can be cov- 

 ered with straw mats ; the plants not being near the glass 

 a few degrees of frost will not hurt them. 



With a good drainage, the compost to plant them in 

 is a mixture of broken sandstones or soft bricks with 

 sandy peat, chopped sphagnum and coal dust. For 

 those with thin hairy creeping rootstocks like most 

 hymenophyllums the pots when filled with that mixture 

 can be covered will) fresh sphagnum and the plant put 

 on top of it with a few hooks to make it hold; the root- 

 stock must never bo buried under the soil. For those 

 with thick rootstocks which climb over rocks, like trich- 

 omanes, after being put on top of that mixture, the pot 

 has to be filled up with the same stones between the 

 roots. Todeas want more soil, but very porous, and' 

 drainage enough to avoid danger of stagnant water on 

 the roots. 



Filmy ferns want to have their fronds always moist; 

 if once withered they come to life no more, but they 

 should not be sprinkled. The surroundings must be 

 kept moist enough so that the condensed evaporation 

 keeps the fronds moist; it is only in very dry weather 

 when dam lough can not be kept that sprinkling 



with soft water is necessary, but it does more harm than 

 good. They are never nicer and healthier than in the 

 fall when the cool nights bring much condensation and 



