Magical Maidenhairs
I love maidenhair ferns, but I’ve always had to buy them. I don’t have the patience (or the skills) to try to grow them from spores. I know it takes a lot of time and it’s still a bit hit-or-miss. But now I have several beautiful maidenhairs that just “growed”.
Truly they did. Each of them just appeared, first as several small flattish green blobs which I now know are called gametophytes. I had no idea what they were at the time, but they didn’t look dangerous so I ignored them.
Then a tiny delicate maidenhair frond unfurled, and then another. I was thrilled.
I now have three of these unexpected maidenhairs.
Each one grew in pots given over to some other plant. In fact twice I was propagating some other plant, but as soon as I realized there were maidenhairs growing in each pot, they took precedence.
In the background of that photo, you can just see another small maidenhair fern growing in a pot with a pothos cutting I was propagating.
I wasn’t game to dig out the other plants or to try to transfer the maidenhairs to another pot, so I just kept them well watered and watched their progress with delight. For one of the plants I was propagating (a peperomia), the soil was too moist, but I didn’t care when it died — I had other peperomia cuttings growing.
I also found another maidenhair growing outside in a zygocactus plant (aka Christmas Cactus, only they don’t flower at Christmas here because in December it’s summer here.)
For most of the year it sits outside on the deck, where it gets rain and all kinds of weather but is still reasonably sheltered. And yesterday when I went out to check whether the flowers were opening I spotted the maidenhair. I only usually bring my zygoes in at flowering time, which is any day now, as you can see by the buds. I have a beautiful pink one that’s now inside, but without any unexpected ferns.
All I can think of is that I must have had a bigger maidenhair next to these pots and the spores dropped and eventually turned into ferns.
It certainly wasn’t anything clever I did. But I’m delighted.
I once had a big tree fern that also just “growed” outside my kitchen window in the old house. It grew and flourished for 20+ years and was over 6 feet tall when I sold that house. I would have brought it with me, but I was moving during Covid, and I couldn’t get anyone to help me move it. The people who bought the house —and bulldozed the rest of the garden — dug it up and put it in their own house, which I have mixed feelings about. I’m glad the tree fern survived, but hated that the rest of the garden was bulldozed to make way for lawn.
Tree ferns are native to this part of Australia, the south-eastern part, which in its original state was covered in cool temperate rainforest. This is what that looks like — 2 photos: the first in a partially cleared area, the second is native bushland, with tall gum trees and tree ferns growing naturally.
Do you like ferns? Do you grow any? Have you any plants that just “growed”?
I have several plants that came in with others or in loads of topsoil that I absolutely loathe. Forget-me-nots, crown vetch, buttercup, white clover, goutweed anyone? I have a few plants that have self-seeded. Some I’ve left, some I’ve yarded out. A few roses, smoke bush, mountain ash, maples, alders, I’ve mostly yanked. A rose or two I’ve left. Some of the lady’s mantle. The neighbour now has my soapwort. And after a vicious winter a few years back, the lavender has finally self-seeded enough to fill in the dead spots. My yard is too sunny for ferns to thrive,… Read more »
Marianne you clearly have the sort of garden that plants love. I have to admit to a fondness for forget-me-nots. Yes they spread, but they’re not that hard to pull out and I love their pretty blue. And lavender is quite hardy, isn’t it, and I also love the scent. My grandmother used to air washing by draping it over lavender bushes. She also had hundreds of lavender bags that went in drawers — at least they seemed like hundreds to me, as I often had the job of unpicking the bags, emptying out the old lavender and replacing it… Read more »
I have a huge “Lori” fern in a pot outside, next to the walkway leading to the front door. It has had in interesting life. Thirteen years ago my work supervisor, Lori, who lived on a boat, found it, pot and all, in the marina trash dumpster and rescued it. She brought it to work and kept it in her office. She retired about a year later and left the fern behind. Our new supervisor kept it, but he had no interest in house plants, so my co-worker and I watered it for the next couple of years. In 2017,… Read more »
Oh, Alena I love the story of rescuing your “already rescued once” fern and bringing it home from the office. And how it revitalized and thrived after a repotting! That fern clearly deserves your love and attention — it’s determined to live. You’ve also reminded me that I need to do some repotting, but I’ll wait until spring begins here.
P.S. The plants that just grow, willy nilly, in my yard are violets. I planted a violet many years ago. I love violets. They are such lovely, delicate flowers. Except they are not delicate. They have invited themselves to just about everywhere. They are in the flower bed, they are in the aloe and succulent containers. They keep popping up. And they are so pretty, I just let them be.
I love violets too, Alena. Such a sweet scent when they flower as well. I had lots in my old house and I used to love picking a bunch and putting it in a small vase in my bedroom.
I have ferns in the shady part of my garden. Some are evergreen. Nothing as tender as the lovely maidenhairs, though.
Thanks, Liz. I had other ferns in my old garden—they’re so pretty, aren’t they? — but maidenhairs are surprisingly tough — as long as they don’t dry out.