What type of fern? Most will do ok with a little morning sun, more important is moisture.

I don't know what type it is. I will ask her. I will put it then in the north side since it gets morning sun but not afternoon.

Thanks.

if you dug them .. where did she have them?????

seems like you have a local source of info .... or did you tie her up.. before you dug them out of her garden???? and then ran away giggling ....

ken

:D

We were together at her garden. It was she who dug it. I remember, she told me that her house is facing west. However, she's got a tall tree before but it died. I also remember she told me that her hosta(also in front of house) got sun burn since the tree is gone.

If I put it in west which is the back of my house, it will get sun starting at 1:30pm. And if I recall correctly, afternoon sun is really hot.

I guess, I should find a spot in my house that is facing north.

Most.....but not all.....ferns come from woodland environments. If you think about ferns you have seen growing naturally and duplicate those conditions - dappled/part to full shade and organic, moist (but not wet) soil - you will make the vast majority of common ferns happy. That would point to the north rather than the south side of the house in the northern hemisphere.

btw, that 'tuber' is more correctly a rhizome or a lateral, underground stem :-) Roots, just the same as with any other vascular plant, grow off the rhizome. Some species of ferns produce very short, stubby rhizomes that form a dense woody mass. Others can produce rhizomes that extend for a considerable distance - as much as a 3-4 feet - before sending up fronds.

A western exposure has pretty intense sun. I'm going to assume they're Ostrich Ferns aka Fiddleheads (easy, very common, hardy and will spread by their rhizome root system) and if they've acclimated to more sun with the loss of your neighbor's tree, chances are they'll thrive wherever you put them. Hopefully she dug up whole crowns for you and not just a tangle of roots. With the crowns, the little green "fiddleheads" should be starting to appear in the not too distant future. The roots get buried, but the crown should be at or showing above the soil line - in other words don't bury the whole crown.

If you're a little insecure about them, pick a shadier spot. No matter where you plant them, ostrich fern fronds naturally start browning out in late summer; one of the first things to go in the gardens up here. So be prepared for a blank spot if you cut the brown fronds off.

Anecdotal, but I have a northwest facing fern bed - started out under old spruce trees. As the trees got limbed and eventually taken out over the years, the ostrich ferns had to sink or swim in the sun. They're glorious - by mid summer they're primeval looking with 5' arching fronds.

There were no leaves when we dug it 2 weeks ago. It was just the rhizome. I'll keep you posted about it. I'll plant it tomorrow.

Thanks for all the guidance. I really appreciate it. :)

And where has the rhizome been for 2 weeks? In a pot? packed in sphagnum?
Every day the roots are out of the ground decreases the chance of survival.
Linda C

I had a dream about ferns last night...lol! I was driving down the road and saw this shady glen full of ostrich ferns. I got out of the car and was about to dig some up then I woke up. The stupid dreams I have.

Karen

i would shoot for a location ANYWHERE but in the hot sun of afternoon ... avoid 1 to 5 pm ....

they are under canopy plants.. as noted above.. basically the forest floor is a near desert ... so they can tolerate dry once 'established' ....

but under canopy is NEVER full HOT sun ... or if they are on the edge of the forest.. they are brown by august.. and still thrive ...

watch for them while you drive by forest stands .... they are everywhere ....

err towards damp and shady .. but bright.. and they will grow like weeds ...

i seem to recall pulling out some over-aggressive ferns.. and throwing them in a pile ... and some sprouting the next spring ..with little or no soil and after winter ... not all that foo foo a plant in my estimate ...

plant them today.. you can always move them later.. mother earth is some much more tolerant than a pot ...

ken