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WHO TO CALL:
Home & Garden Editor
Pamela Lang

985-2131 (125)

SOME GARDENERS tend
to dismiss ferns as uninter-
esting garden plants .
because they don't produce
flowers

In spite of their lack of color,
they do give a garden aesthetic
qualities that are difficult to
achieve using other plants.

They add a soft and graceful
nature toa garden and can act
neutral backdrop or foil for other

Nowering and accent plants, Their

ability to grow in sun or shade
with low nutrient demands makes
then ideal for those difficult
spots.

"Many of the larger ferns, when
grown in numbers, can give a gars
den a tropical appearance or i
primeval look. Precall watking
through a fern forest and water
garden in New Zealand and think-
ing how tush and exatic Ute sel-
ting was.

Ferns, or pteridaphyies as they
ure called. inmake up a huge group
of plants -~ some (2,000 species
in all.

Most Gibout 80%) grow in the
humid tropics -- an area often
associated with fern

onsson

SOW IT GROWS

species.

Uniil recently. all the ferns
grown inthis area have been
herbaceous, meaning they have no
woody stem or urupk and ure
small,

In 1991 the first major attempt
to import and grow the Tasmanian
tree fern (Dicksenia antarctica)
was undertaken by Jones Nursery.
So far the survival rate looks
promising and the availability of
these unique landscaping plants
will increase.

If you would like to add some
tropical character to your garden
the best time to plant ferns is in
the early spring or late fall when
the plants are dormant.

Diy a hole one and a half times
the depth of the rootball or pot the
fern is growing in, Before planti-
ng. mix two measures of the lase
soil with one measure of coarse
compast,

A lite bone meal mixed into
the soil will also provide slow
release phosphorous to ussist root
development, When replanting,
keep the new plant ac the same
depth as it was growing

fost Pacific Northwest ferns

See Additions page 12

urprisingly, some (5%) are found
: in dry or desert areas. The balance B Automotive..............18 — Music......
NEWS photo Terry Peters” grow in cool damp woodland
THERE ARE a half dozen ferns that dre native to our area. Most areas. Our climate is ideal for @ Hot Tips.
do. not require much maintenance and can add a luxurious — most of the cool woodland va ‘
teuch to any North Shore garden. ; elies including our own native

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