I love your Great Expectations. I always remember the book, which I had to read in high school and hated, but the plant is so beautiful.

My Junes have sported blue babies as well. Several times they've done that.

Are you sure that's a Sensitive Fern? Looks like what I know as a Royal Fern. I have both in my garden.

liquidfeet..not sure at all about the fern..no tag..when I looked for the name I thought sensitive was the best choice..I'll look again..that fern is old (10?)..and small..does that sound like a Royal more than a Sensitive?..I know little about either one..
as far as I know this June is my only one with sports..I should check my others..

liquidfeet..I googled both ferns..what inconsistent pics..there were pics on both names that were similar AND pics that were different!..but since you grow both I would trust your opinion more than mine..it wasn't marked and could very well be a Royal fern..

Your wooded garden is so peaceful.

Nicholsworth, that dogwood is lovely! GE looks like it likes your garden. Darn that June being a sport! My opinion, I hate the sporting! Had a Striptease that sported so many leaves you couldnt tell what it was, it got the shovel.

Sherry

oursteelers..thank you..you're right..it is peaceful..until the hawks screech Lol..

Sherry..it's strange to me that hostas have sports..I know they do but I don't get it..I'm curious to see what happens if I ignore it..so the entire plant could turn blue?..

Royal ferns need waaay more water than Sensitive ferns. And shade. They need shade.

Here in New England these both grow wild in the woods. The Royals are usually in boggy areas on raised crowns. I got mine from the woods, planted it in a pot submerged in the ground near an outdoor faucet. When I water it, the water takes forever to drain out through the holes in the bottom of that plastic pot, which is what I think a Royal fern likes. I don't have a creek on the property, but my neighbor across the street does. That's where his Royals grow. His are all volunteers.

Sensitive ferns will grow in full sun or partial shade. Not so happy in full shade, but they survive. In decent sun, they will form quite a clump. My neighbor has a huge clump of them, maye the size of two parking spots, in the sun. I have them in big pots in front of the garage. Babies do come up in the grass everywhere, from spores carried on the wind.

There are at least two different-looking Sensitive fern types. The ones around here don't look like yours, nicholsworth. Ours have fatter frond parts. I remember being surprised that Sensitive ferns could look so different when I first looked them up.

I’m with Peren, that June will be gone!

Sherry

peren..thank you!..compared to some my frost damage wasn't bad..some of my thinner leaved hostas have wrinkles and puckering but I didn't lose leaves..my fern hasn't spread..it must be a Royal..thanks for the warning about June..

liquidfeet..the traits of Sensitive ferns don't seem to match mine..mine must be a Royal..I bought it at the greenhouse at the Indianapolis Museum of Art years ago..an untagged fall clearance plant..it was only 2 inches tall..I'm happy that it survived..

Sherry..thank you too for the warning..what a hassle..a hosta I love that I thought was a "done deal" needs work..

Yes Nicholsworth, your woods are lovely and I hope my GE comes up looking that good. New last year, I’m not sure it’s coming up yet, even though all my others are.......

I believe sporting and reverting are two different things. If I am correct, reverting means that one or more eyes is reverting to the parent plant. June reverts to Halcyon. Mine did that last year. I separated out the Halcyon eyes and planted them elsewhere. I was happy to get a new plant out of it. My Paradise Joyce is doing the same, one eye is reverting also to Halcyon. It is all alone so I will remove and add to the other Halcyon.

Sporting, if I am correct is when a hosta grows Some leaf/leaves that are unlike the actual hosta in some way. Maybe it is an entire eye that’s different (not sure the actual limitations here). I don’t do any cultivation, but the sport maybe interesting enough to try to grow on its own for the purpose of a new hosta possibly.

PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I AM WRONG———thanks

On the left side of the plant, those two leaves are one eye that’s reverting

djacobz..I follow what you said..my odd leaves are plain blue like Halcyon not something new..I've seen posts with pics that say my "whatever name" is reverting..for June to revert sounds fairly common..it's just new for me..
Great Expectations has been a slow grower for me..I was afraid of it after my neighbor's experience..I'm happy that mine has survived..

All the pictures you have shown above are beautiful. Your Gr. Ex. is doing so well. I've never seen a Royal fern. I like it! Kousa dogwood and viburnum are delightful! Wish I could have one!

Junes can revert to blue, but so far the ones I have do not. (Knock on wood now.) People down the street have five that I can see near their sidewalk. All are now reverting to blue and have not grown much in many, many years. I want to knock on the door and tell them: "you are losing your June!" The Halcyon and June mixture does look very attractive (to me), but since it means the blue will take over, well then I'd rather it didn't revert.

Glad you didn't suffer too much frost damage Nicholsworth.

Your GE looks good! They're all known to be slow growers but they look good the whole time so that's a plus.

I've got a blue Halcyon section that came up in both my June and my Touch of Class this year. The ToC is off to one side so I think I'll make another Halcyon out of it. Not sure if the June will be as easy to separate. In that case, I may just do the reach down and twist the blue ones out trick. .....So getting the blue out doesn't have to be that much effort if you're not trying to get another hosta from it.

newhostalady..thank you!..I was so fortunate when it comes to frost damage..as steve said on the initial frost the earth was warm..here the temperature dropped suddenly but it didn't last long..the following nights were warmer..my trees, shrubs and leaf litter protected my hostas..I admit I'm a bit curious to watch June revert..if this was my only June I'd feel differently..I've always loved June..and now I'm starting to love GE too..and I have more appreciation for my Royal fern..I wish all of us had more time (longer season) and energy to fully see our plants..

sandyslopes..I wish I knew why my GE is growing and my neighbor's died..Pamela Harper (garden author I like) called GE a bitter disappointment..so I avoided it..I'm not going to touch it..my neglect has worked out..you did offer a very simple solution to June's blue baby..for the moment I want to watch it..Lol..

Here's a Sensitive Fern from my garden. It's the fat leaf version. They are yellow-green in color, but when they unfurl they start out with a terracotta color.

This one is growing between some rocks.

And here's a baby sporeling in the grass. They're so cute when they're little.

My Royal Fern is not open yet. I'll post a picture of it once it's ready. I think, nicholsworth, that you'll find it looks much like your fern, once I post a picture here.

liquidfeet..your Sensitive fern is so pretty..the fronds have scalloped edges whereas mine are plain..the center stem on my fronds is so thin..your center stem is thicker..thanks for posting these photos..

Nicholsworth, I love June too. It just ticks all the boxes. At first I didn't love my GE, but it was nice. And then when it began to grow and do better, I fell in love! I think you will too! Yes we need a longer growing season!

Yes, I think the scalloped edges distinguish clearly between the two species.

Very cool, I need more ferns in my garden. (not Ostrich fern). Now I know what to look for. I keep seeing the Japanese Painted ferns, Autumn Fern, Ghost fern (have those), Tassel fern (doesn't appeal to me) and then I lose interest.

I love the ostrich ferns because they makes such a statement when en masse. You don't like them?

I wish I had enough money to buy a huge number of Autumn Ferns. I've admired what the National Zoo in DC has done with them. That place is a botanical garden, but it's not advertised as such. My garden is only graced with one autumn fern. Perhaps it will produce spores this year and they will come up in the grass. I'd love that.

I've seen Japanese Painted Ferns planted in the woods in large numbers. I prefer them as specimens, sitting next to something that contrasts color-wise with them. I have one and enjoy its color.

Ghost ferns are fantastic! I have one. It serves as a specimen too, and that's just fine as I don't have the $ to buy more of those either. So much of what I have depends on how much they cost. Free is my favorite.

I have Ostrich fern popping up in the garden already. It's OK but I have enough. They're somewhat invasive but the maple trees keep them in check (so far).

Yeah, I bought 1 Autumn and 1 Ghost but JPF must be cheaper as I have more of them, lol. I just bought a "Silvery Fern" which is like the Ghost fern but actually has a name - Branford Beauty. I'd like to find something different but I'm drawn to JPFs.

Here are three random photos from the internet showing what Japanese Painted Ferns look like when a bunch of them are massed together.