January 26 , 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
51 
The Royal Fern. 
The Finest of the Larger 
British Ferns. 
(Osmunda regalis.) 
NOTES ON CULTIVATION. 
Of the larger British Ferns the Royal 
Fern is undoubtedly the most noble and 
the most interesting. The only other which 
may be compared to it is the common 
Bracken which often grows 8ft. high, but 
as the Bracken sends up its fronds singly 
it only forms a mass when a considerable 
area of ground is occupied by the roots. 
This fact, and the existence of creeping 
underground stems, prevents it from find¬ 
ing great favour with those who have only 
a small fernery out of doors, and no one 
would think of cultivating it in pots. 
The Royal Fern produces its fronds in 
a tuft from the crown, and though they 
seldom exceed 6ft. in height, each frond 
so that a very old specimen would present 
the appearance of a short stemmed tree 
Fern. This results from the fact that the 
solid portion or stem grows chiefly at tire 
top, and in the course of a number of 
years rises up out of the ground. Owing 
to the fact that the plant in a wil'd state 
grows in bogs or marshes, this habit of 
growing straight up is of advantage in 
allowing the young fronds to be clear of 
the water, and permitting the access of 
oxygen or air to the stems. 
It is not every one who can procure a 
specimen with a .large or long stem, as 
the plant is annually getting more and 
more scarce in this country owing to the 
mens, and thereby leave the wild speci¬ 
mens undisturbed. 
In the matter of cultivation the chief re¬ 
quirements of this Fern is an abundant 
supply of moisture, because, as we said 
above, it is an inhabitant of the marsh 
and bog. Soil is quite of secondary im¬ 
portance, provided the moisture is ade¬ 
quate. Those who have a pond or lake 
or running stream in their garden could 
not do better than make up a bed on the 
banks of the water where the Ferns will 
just be clear of the water, and have their 
roots dipping into it below. Having 
taken this trouble the cultivator should 
put in some rough drainage and use peat 
1 
The Royal Fei-n (Osmunda regalis). 
Maclaren ind Sons. 
■ 
is broad and the pinnae large so that as 
far as the Fern kind is concerned this 
handsome species presents quite a sub¬ 
tropical effect when grown to its full di¬ 
mensions. The fronds are bi-pinnate, 
that is, twice divided into pinnae and 
pinnules. 
The actual size of the fronds or the 
plant as a whole depends largelv upon the 
age of the crown or rootstock. This forms 
a thick stump, not unlike that of a Cvcas, 
depredations of Fern hunters who dig 
them up wholesale to put on the market. 
A plant of large size would really mean 
that it is many years old. Those who 
cannot procure a large one may, however, 
be able to get small ones, which will prac¬ 
tically last the grower’s lifetime if they 
are procured when at rest and properly 
planted. Those who cultivate the species 
can raise it from spores, and in that way 
it is possible to multiply cultivated speci- 
and loam for planting the Fern. After 
placing some rough material over the 
drainage, and then some of the finer por¬ 
tions, the Royal Fern can be put into 
position, covered up, and the ground 
firmly trodden about it just leaving the 
crown quite clear' of the soil. 
There is still another method of grow¬ 
ing this Fern by those who cannot com¬ 
mand ornamental water of any kind in 
their garden. This plan is to take out a 
