Hello Maria Elena,

How long ago did you plant them. As I say quite often, a year is nothing to a fern. If they don't come up right away, don't worry. It often takes a long time to wake them up.

I hope you planted them in loamy soil, with lots of good drainage and some wood chips or leaf mold. They like soil like what you'd find in the forest. They also like shade. They should be planted shallowly, about 1-2 inches down, and kept slightly moist until they put up fronds. Don't fertilize them until after fronds are coming up. If you don't see them this year, don't worry. They'll come up next year.

Lainey

Hey Mari

Did you buy them from the guy on Ebay. I bought them myself about six weeks ago. He gives absolutely no instructions, which drove me nuts. They are a little slow coming up.
But it eventually got 11 out of the twelve to come out.

I planted two of them under a spruce tree. They seem to be doing the best of the lot.

I would disagree about the 1-2 inches, thats too deep IMHO, I planted them right on the surface and I did pretty well.

The big thing with these ferns is that they love water. Make sure you water them like crazy until you see the fronds start coming up, then keep watering. Don't let them dry out. This is a swamp plant by nature, so I dont think you can overwater them.

You may want to look at the earlier discussion that I started on these ferns.

Heres the link:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/crypto/msg052243418057.html?7

Regards

Dave

Thanks Lainey and Dave! Yes, I did purchase them on ebay and I was so excited and now I'm bummed. I initially planted them 1-2" but then moved them up more to the soil's surface. They are all under big pine trees in the shade and I have kept them moist but I'm still not seeing any action. I guess I won't count on them for this year and see what happens next spring. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!! - MariaE

Hi, last spring (2005) I bought bare roots. Planted them in a pot. I had 1 frond come up. I assumed that I'd wasted my money, and forgot about it... didn't water or anything. Much to my suprise... the pot is FULL this year. Go figure!