THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING. 



Ferns continued. 



to subject them. Blinds on rollers, that admit of being let 

 down and removed as desired, should be used. Although 

 Ferns delight essentially in shade and moisture, both may 

 be carried to an excess, especially in winter time, when 

 all should be at rest. The growing and resting periods 

 are as necessary with many Ferns as with flowering plants, 

 although the ripening in autumn, as ordinarily understood, 

 is not of so much importance. The general arrangement of 

 stove Ferns greatly depends on the structure and space 

 at command. Adiantums, Davallias, Gymnogrammes, and 

 Platyceriums, may be cited as examples for situations 

 where most light is obtainable, and only a thin shading 

 applied in sunny weather ; while Acrostichums, and the 

 stove species of Aspidium, Asplenium, Nephrodium, and 

 Pteris, succeed in darker or more shady positions. The 

 introduction of Tree Ferns produces a fine effect where 

 there is sufficient height, but, if planted out, these soon 

 require much more room than it is possible to obtain in 

 the majority of stoves. By growing them in tubs, and 

 plunging, a more suitable appearance is presented, the 

 restriction of the roots having a corresponding effect on 

 the rate of growth in the fronds. Any repotting should 

 be performed before growth commences, as, if it is deferred 

 till afterwards, many of the young fronds will become 

 crippled. For stove Ferns, a growing season of eight 

 months should be allowed, namely, from February till Sep- 

 tember inclusive. The other four months should be the 

 resting period, when a night temperature of SOdeg. to 55deg. 

 will be sufficient, with a minimum rise by day of 5deg. more. 

 A drier atmosphere must also be maintained, and less 

 water applied to the roots, at the same time avoiding an 

 extreme in the latter case. When growth commences, the 

 minimum night and day temperatures may be gradually 

 raised, until, in summer, the former will seldom go below 

 GOdeg. or 65deg. Air should be carefully admitted, and 

 plenty of water applied to the roots and amongst the pots, 

 with a view to the production of fronds of moderate 

 growth and good substance conditions not to be insured 

 by a close atmosphere and very high temperature. Light 

 syringings may be occasionally applied to most stove Ferns 

 in summer, but too much has a tendency to weaken many 

 of the fronds. Adiantums, Gymnogrammes, and, generally 

 speaking, species with powdery or very hairy fronds, should 

 not be syringed at any time. The whole beauty of Ferns 

 consists in the full development of the fronds ; and if these 

 are to be kept in good condition afterwards, until the new 

 ones of the following year appear, it is important that the 

 plants be kept properly watered and subjected to treatment, 

 in summer, calculated to produce a moderate amount of 

 solidified growth, that, in the autumn, should be thoroughly 

 ripened by the admission of sun and air to the structure 

 in which the Ferns are grown. If, as before recommended, 

 blinds on rollers are in use for summer shading, they will, 

 of necessity, have to pass over the roof ventilators. This 

 has an advantage both of breaking the force of the wind 

 and preventing an undue evaporation of moisture from 

 the inside. If found to fit too closely, blocks may easily 

 be fixed to the rafters at the top, to keep the shading a 

 little open. 



GREENHOUSE FERNS. A large number of Ferns, usually 

 grown and treated as stove subjects, succeed equally well, 

 but do not grow quite so fast, in a greenhouse temperature, 

 and, wherever employed, either alone or in combination 

 with flowering plants, are much appreciated. A more 

 interesting structure than a cool Fernery attached to a 

 conservatory, when well stocked and carefully arranged, 

 can scarcely be imagined. The majority of Ferns succeed 

 in comparatively small pots, and are consequently well 

 suited for mixing with other occupants of the side stages. 

 The stronger-growing ones are also well adapted for 

 planting in permanent beds or amongst other plants, such 

 as Camellias, &c., where not too much crowded, the 

 partial shade and moisture suiting the Ferns admirably. 



Ferns continued. 



Nearly all Adiantums do well under greenhouse treatment 

 in summer, but must be removed to warmer quarters for 

 the winter. Many Nephrodiums and species of Pteris, 

 particularly P. longifolia, P. serrulata and its varieties, 

 and P. tremula, do better planted out in a cool structure 

 than anywhere else. Lomaria gibba, and other species, are 

 among the most beautiful of cool decorative Ferns, and the 

 same may be said of Asplenium bulbiferum, and others 

 from Australia and New Zealand : Davallia canariensis, 

 Nephrolepis exaltata, Onychium japonicum, Woodwardia 

 radicans, Sfc. Todea barbara is well adapted for planting 

 out in a position where considerable space can be allowed 

 for its large fronds to develop ; it may also be grown in 

 pots, any cool house, or even a sheltered position outside, 

 with protection in frosty weather, suiting it. The genus 

 Gleichenia contains many beautiful species that do not 

 require much heat, excepting two or three from tropical 

 countries. If grown in large pans, and tied out with neat 

 stakes, beautiful specimens may be obtained under green- 

 house treatment. These are propagated by layering the 

 slender rhizomes, or by separating rather large pieces from 

 established plants, and potting separately. The shade 

 necessary for ordinary greenhouse flowering plants in 

 summer will also be suitable for Ferns, plenty of moisture 

 being at that season supplied at the roots and, with few 

 exceptions, such as Adiantums, overhead. 



FERNS SUITABLE FOR BASKETS. Hanging baskets, 

 either in the stove or greenhouse, are, at all times, an 

 additional attraction, and the elegant and graceful habit 

 of many Ferns constitutes them excellent subjects for 

 use in that way. Baskets, made in different sizes, of 

 stout galvanised wire, may be suspended from the roof, 

 and, if carefully watered, the plants will succeed ex- 

 tremely well in most cases. Many are seen to much better 

 advantage, especially those with long and drooping fronds, 

 than when grown in pots for stage decoration. Some of 

 the fast-growing Selaginellas are most useful to plant 

 with basket Ferns, for covering the soil or hanging down. 

 Adiantums will, again, be found very attractive, par- 

 ticularly A. caudatum, A. cuneatum, A. gracillimum, and 

 A. Moorei, with Asplenium Belangeri, A. longissimum, 

 and A. viviparum; Davallia dissecta and D. pallida ; 

 Gymnogramme schizophylla ; Nephrolepis davallioides and 

 N. exaltata, and many others that are of somewhat similar 

 habit. Nearly all of these are amenable to cool-house 

 treatment in summer. 



FILMY FERNS. These constitute a distinct class, re- 

 quiring different treatment from any other members of 

 the family. Very few do well in an open house, as suffi- 

 cient atmospheric moisture cannot be obtained. On the 

 whole, they do not require much heat, being often found 

 to grow stronger and keep in better health when cultivated 

 in close cases, in a cool Fernery, than when placed in 

 similar cases in the stove. Filmy Ferns should never be 

 watered overhead, but the stones and moss amongst which 

 they are generally grown must be kept continually moist 

 by having water poured on from the small spout of a can. 

 This, when evaporating inside the inclosed case, becomes 

 condensed on the extremely numerous divisions of the 

 fronds as represented in the majority of species, and its 

 continued presence there invariably indicates good health 

 and the frequency with which it will be necessary to give 

 water. Pieces of rough fibry peat and loam, with char- 

 coal and sphagnum, are most suitable for Filmy Ferns. 

 Nearly all that grow in soil succeed better when planted 

 amongst stones, while those that form rhizomes should 

 be placed on blocks of peat, dead pieces of Tree Fern, &c. 

 They must always be shaded from sunshine; and not 

 much light is required at any time. The difficulty 

 generally experienced is in establishing the plants ; when 

 once they begin to grow and increase, the treatment is, 

 in most cases, simple enough. Hymenophyllum, Todea, 

 and Trichomanee, arc three of the principal genera 



