Fern Grower's Manual: Revised and Expanded Edition

605 Pages·2001·17.25 MB·english

by  Barbara Joe Hoshizaki

Fern Grower’s Manual
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Fern Grower’s
Manual
Revised and Expanded Edition
Barbara Joe Hoshizaki and
Robbin C. Moran
TIMBER PRESS
Portland, Oregon
The in-text Adiantumline drawings are by Lynn Vander Velde; unless otherwise
credited in the captions, all other line drawings are by Barbara Joe Hoshizaki.
Unless otherwise credited in the captions, the in-text black-and-white photographs are
by Arthur Takayama.
Unless otherwise credited in the captions, the color plates are by Barbara Joe Hoshizaki.
Copyright © 2001 by Barbara Joe Hoshizaki and Robbin C. Moran. All rights reserved.
Published in 2001 by
Timber Press, Inc.
The Haseltine Building
133 S.W. Second Avenue, Suite 450
Portland, Oregon 97204, U.S.A.
Printed in Hong Kong
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hoshizaki, Barbara Joe.
Fern grower’s manual / Barbara Joe Hoshizaki and Robbin C. Moran.—
Rev. and expanded ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
ISBN 0-88192-495-4
1. Ferns, Ornamental. I. Moran, Robbin Craig, 1956– II. Title.
SB429. H64 2001
635.9¢373—dc21
00-059999
Contents
Preface 7
1. About Ferns 11
2. The Structure of Ferns 13
3. Obtaining Ferns 22
4. Cultural Needs 25
5. Soils and Fertilizers 37
6. Through the Year with Ferns 48
7. Planting 51
8. Propagation 63
9. Landscaping 87
10. Growing Special Ferns 99
11. Troubles with Growing Ferns 118
12. How Ferns Get Their Names 140
13. Ferns and Fern Allies in Cultivation 151
Appendix I: Measuring Light 541
Appendix II: Fern Societies 542
Appendix III: Importing Ferns 543
Appendix IV: Names of Pest and Disease Control Substances 547
Appendix V: Family Classification of Fern Genera Treated in the Text 553
Glossary 558
Literature Cited 565
Subject Index 573
Plant Name Index 581
Color plates, including USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, follow page 240
5
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Preface
Ferns continue to hold the interest of gardeners as we enter a new millennium. After the Victorian fern
craze, interest in ferns focused mainly on the native species and some of those common in the trade. After
World War II, interest in exotic ferns gradually took hold, and this fostered the formation of new fern
societies and the offering of a greater selection in the trade.
It has been more than 25 years since the first edition of Fern Grower’s Manualwas published (Hoshizaki
1975). At the time, the author thought it would interest the horticultural public for only a few years before
ferns would fall out of vogue. She was wrong. A strong interest in ferns continues today as evidenced by the
great increase in fern societies all over the world for both amateurs and professional botanists. Also, the
number of fern species in cultivation has increased tremendously. The contributions of fern botanists in
writing floras and monographs, clarifying species, and supporting amateur interest are important factors in
this growth. The horticultural area has also made great contributions, particularly in pest control, tissue
culture, plug culture, new products, and determining the growing needs of certain ferns.
All this interest in ferns has created a need for a revised edition of Fern Grower’s Manual—one that
updates the information on pest control, propagation, new materials and products, cultural requirements,
and many other topics. But unlike other recent fern books, this revised edition emphasizes identifying cul-
tivated ferns by way of the text and illustrations for the 124 genera and more than 700 species treated (each
species is illustrated). Because diagnostic features are often unclear in photographs, this edition relies heav-
ily on silhouettes and line drawings. With additional help from the book’s glossary and a good hand lens,
the reader should be able to identify most of the cultivated species.
This revised edition treats all the commonly cultivated (and some rarely cultivated) fern species, vari-
eties, and many cultivars in the United States. Besides identification, this new edition will help readers learn
more about a particular fern by including its geographical distribution and author citations after the species
names. This information enables readers to have a better idea of which floras, texts, or journals to consult
for further information about a fern. An expanded bibliography also points to other literature sources.
This book is mainly written for people seriously interested in growing ferns, knowing their names and
what makes them similar or different, and appreciating their diversity. It is not a coffee-table book, nor a
chatty type of garden book meant for light reading. Beginning fern amateurs may find more information
than they need, but they will also find information useful at their level. Although this book primarily is a
reference, it is also for browsing and gleaning bits of information not readily found elsewhere.
The core information in this book will be particularly helpful to plant people who want to grow or iden-
tify different ferns and fern allies. Gardeners, nursery people, commercial growers, plant inspectors, botan-
ical garden staff, horticulturists, botanists, biology teachers, and others will find the information they need
in this one volume. The alternative would be to have a library of horticultural books and floras from the
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world over and/or access to a fern botanist with a large herbarium. Botanists needing to grow ferns for their
research will find specific information on growing genera of ferns as well as general cultural information.
Students in horticulture, botany, and biology will find that this book gives an overview of fern infor-
mation that is basic and up-to-date, but they also should note that much remains to be discovered. In addi-
tion to examining the growth response of ferns to various environmental conditions, there is also much to
clarify on the relationships of genera and species. It is hoped that this book will stimulate students to study
horticultural and botanical problems of ferns or use them in their research. Although this type of problem
solving has been traditionally left to the scientist, observant, thoughtful, and innovative growers have made
and will continue to make valuable contributions to studying ferns (pteridology). Gardeners without sci-
entific training have introduced new species to horticulture, produced new cultivars and hybrids, and
found the right combination of conditions to grow difficult species. Much is unknown about temperature
tolerances of ferns, and this too is information that may be observed by growers and added to the store of
knowledge about ferns. Commercial growers have worked out detailed cultural information on growing
Boston ferns and leather ferns. Cultural details for other important trade groups have yet to be fully
reported.
Keeping an accurate list of the species in cultivation has become increasingly difficult, if not impossi-
ble. Many name changes since the first edition of this book have greatly complicated the task. Moreover,
new ferns are constantly being introduced to horticulture. There are about 10 fern societies in the world
whose members often bring new ferns into cultivation, and the number of species that can still be intro-
duced is sizable. An annual list recently offered by a fern society listed 775 packets of spores for exchange.
With so many possible species to list, it was thought better to err on the side of including too many instead
of too few. Several new and promising introductions came to our attention too late to be fully treated.
Several species listed as cultivated could not be verified, and others may have been overlooked. Since few
monographs have been written about problem ferns, identification was sometimes difficult and often com-
plicated by not knowing the country of origin.
Acknowledgments
Writing this book has been a prolonged and immense undertaking, and many people have helped and
encouraged us to reach the finish line. We especially wish to thank those people who read portions of the
manuscript for accuracy and gave helpful suggestions. They are Dr. Wade L. Berry, a plant physiologist and
soil scientist of the University of California, Los Angeles, who edited the cultural information; Dr. A.James
Downer, Farm Advisor, of the University of California Extension, Ventura, who edited the section on
insect pests and diseases; Dr. Ole Becker, of the University of California, Riverside, who edited the section
on nematodes; and botanist Sharon Ishikawa, of the United States Department of Agricultural, Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service, who edited the section on importing plants.
We are indebted to the kindness of Dr. Alan R. Smith, of the University of California, Berkeley, and
Dr. John T. Mickel, of The New York Botanical Garden, for their assistance and time while we worked at
their herbaria. We also thank Dr. Art Gibson, of the University of California herbarium, for use of their
facilities. For identifying difficult ferns, we wish to thank the following people: Dr. Christopher R. Fraser-
Jenkins for Dryopteris;Dr. Richard Hauke for Equisetum;Dr. Blanca León for Campyloneurum;Dr. John
T. Mickel for Elaphoglossumand hardy ferns; Dr. Alan R. Smith for Thelypterisand other genera; Dr. Rolla
M. Tryon for cheilanthoids and suggestions on genera designations; and Dr. Iván Valdespino for Selaginella.
We were fortunate to have the help of other pteridologists from around the world. For Asian ferns we
were helped by many Japanese botanists. We are particularly grateful for identifications from Dr. Toshiyuki
Nakaike, Prof. Keisuke Yasuda, and Prof. Norio Sahashi. Also of assistance were Prof. Masahiro Kato,
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Prof. Reiko Yoroi, Prof. Ryoko Imaichi, Dr. Haruki Hirabayashi, Dr. Mitsuyasu Hasebe, and Dr. Noriaki
Murakami. The late Dr. Warren H. Wagner Jr., Dr. Dan Palmer, and Dr. Barbara Parris were valuable
sources of information on Pacific Island ferns. Dr. David B. Lellinger supplied information about Costa
Rican ferns, Dr. Lynn Raulerston about Guam and Palau ferns, Martin Rickard about English ferns,
Michael Price about Philippine and Malaysian ferns, and Dr. Peter Bostock and Chris Goudey about Aus-
tralian ferns. Yolanda Orta and Martin Grantham shared their expertise about fern propagation. For keep-
ing us informed of ferns in their area and for generous assistance in other ways, we are indebted to Mari-
lyn Johnson of Florida, Judith Jones of Washington, John and Carol Mickel of New York, and Nancy
Swell of Virginia.
We also thank the following for obtaining specimens and answering specific questions: the late Virginia
Ault, Ed and Phyllis Bates, Betsy Feuerstein, Robin Halley, the late Gerda Isenberg, Hildegard and Bruce
Jackson, Al and Marilyn Johnson, Judith Jones, Miriam Leefe, Robert Manthorne, Dr. Bruce McAlpin,
Duane Petersen, Milton Piedra, Ruth Radcliffe, Martin Rickard, the late Dorothy Skula, Nancy Swell, Roy
Vail, Helen Woodley, and Reggie Whitehead. In addition, we learned much from interacting with many
members of the South Florida Fern Society, the Tampa Fern Society, the New York Chapter of the Amer-
ican Fern Society, the Los Angeles International Fern Society, the San Diego Fern Society, the Hardy Fern
Society, and the Southwestern Fern Society.
Many commercial growers were generous with their help and information. We thank Ades and Gish
Nursery, Barford’s Hardy Ferns, California Ferns, Casa de Flora, Clark’s Nursery, Charles Alford Plants,
Daisy Plant Farm, Eisenbraun Ferns, Fancy Fronds, Fender’s Nursery, Fern Farm, Foliage Gardens, Frank
and Dorothy Skula, Freshwater Fauna and Flora, Glasshouse Works, H. Marugame, Half-moon Bay Nurs-
ery, Henry’s Plant Farm, Huntley Greens, Jerry Horne, Lyndon Horticultural Enterprises, Marilyn John-
son, Monrovia Nursery, MSK Rare Plant Nursery, Plants Unlimited, Santa Rosa Tropicals, Siskiyou Rare
Plant Nursery, Swell’s Nursery, Talnadge Fern Gardens, Tropical Gardens, Varga’s Nursery, Weather-
wood Nursery, Wedel’s Nursery, Weeks Nursery, Yerba Buena Nursery, and Yolanda’s Ferns.
For helping with computers, locating citations, assisting with the illustrations, and just making things
work smoother, we would like to acknowledge the help of Joan DeFato, Carol Brooks-Hoshizaki, Jon and
Madeleine Hoshizaki, Janet Keyes, Harry Le Vine Jr., Alvin Lee, Sylvia Louie, Vickie Milane, Mamie
Moy, Damon Woods, and Leo Yamanaka. We wish to acknowledge Arthur Takayama for taking and
preparing most of the black-and-white photographs and Lynn Vander Velde for the Adiantumline draw-
ings. When the senior author desperately needed editing assistance, Ed and Phyllis Bates, Ann Herrington,
Marilyn Johnson, and Susan MacQueen came to her rescue. Dr. Kenneth Wilson has been a source of
unflagging help, ranging from providing botanical expertise to trouble-shooting computer problems. The
senior author’s husband, Dr. Takashi Hoshizaki, a plant physiologist, suggested doing this revision more
than 15 years ago. He helped with the editing and artwork, but most importantly gave cheerful support and
encouragement over the years.
The authors apologize for any oversights in our acknowledgments and wish to assure all that their con-
tributions are nevertheless deeply appreciated.
The senior author also expresses her gratitude and deepest thanks to the junior author, Dr. Robbin
C.Moran, for consenting to join in producing this book. Not only is he one of today’s leading fern scien-
tists, he has also demonstrated his interest and ability in writing for general fern audiences. He has added
valuable information to the text, clarified complicated topics, and improved the book in many ways. With-
out his broad knowledge of ferns, his patience, and his energy to check on innumerable details, make the
required changes, do the editing, and work with Timber Press, this book would have languished much
longer in manuscript form.
We wish to especially acknowledge and thank our editor, Josh Leventhal. He made our work so much
easier and the book so much better with his careful editing and good judgment.