Maidenhair fern

Does anybody grow this? I saw some the other day and just love how soft the leaves are. If you have some to divide, I have some CPs to trade.

My Grandma has just tons of this stuff. Basically it seems to like things not too bright and also enjoys lots of moisture. I haven't had too much success with them but thats probably due to the spot I chose. I'm sure she would give me some though

That's the Northern Maidenhair Fern. Very pretty with shiny black stems and it reaches 1.5’. It's native east of the Rockies. This is a plant that is hardy down to Zone 7. You might not have success with that one but there's a shot at growing it if you have a cool moist microclimate on your property as there are people who have been able to get it to survive in Zone 8. It's a slow growing herbaceous perennial that likes rich (shredded leaves from last fall would be a great soil amendment) well drained soil that is ever so slightly alkaline. It propagates easily from spores if your growing medium is sterile otherwise you can divide it in spring. If you pm me with your name and address, I would be more than happy to send one of mine to you. They are just now beginning to emerge. Mine are juveniles as I bought 3 last year and they never did quite establish properly and by all rights they should have as I have ideal conditions here. Maybe you’ll have better luck than me.

You might want to check out these:
Aleutian maidenhair (Adiantum aleuticum)
California Maidenfern (A. jordanii)

I don’t think they are as airy or dainty as the A. pedatum but they are attractive in their own right and both are found occuring naturally west of the rockies and both are natives to California.

Maidenhairs are my favorite fern. I'm a fern lover. They need high humidity though. I like the "Silver Dollar" variety a lot but love all of them.

Hey is anyone growing the California maidenhair feern? Seems like it would be a better choice as it would be native to my area.

Yeah, I definetly kept the one she gave me too hot.

Well, I was growing them. I didn't realize they were the California Natives at the time that I planted them outside a few years ago. The following spring I looked for them. They were no where to be found and I thought that was odd. They should have made it. Darn common names struck me again. I did go out and purchase the appropriate Maidenhair for my area but those aren't exactly thriving all that well. Maybe next year.

Say Nflytrap... did I send you a Maidehair too?  I must be losing it because I don't remember sending one to you.  I could have sworn I had only sent one to one person. I must be having a senior moment.

Lauren: Sorry for not making it clear-I was referring to a maidenhair fern my grandma gave me which I killed.

They are indeed lovely little plants. When I saw them for the first time I wondered if they were mini gingko trees or something


Edit:
Did a search and it seems only A. jordanii bears a resemblance to mini gingko leaves(plugged in 3 names-pedatum, aleuticum, and jordanii).

Praps i've got it already?

Good, I was sort of thinking I'd need to trade my brain in for one behind door #3.

I grew several Ginkgo biloba from seed. Wonderful trees, I still have one out of the three that germinated hanging in. If you have any space to put one of those, please try one.  They look like something from the set of Jurassic Park. They are really great trees.

Here in zone 5, we have had excellent success growing Adiantum aleuticum (Aleutian maidenhair). It is very robust and not receiving any special care.

[b said:

Quote[/b] (LauraZ5 @ May 22 2005,1:58)]Good, I was sort of thinking I'd need to trade my brain in for one behind door #3.

I grew several Ginkgo biloba from seed. Wonderful trees, I still have one out of the three that germinated hanging in. If you have any space to put one of those, please try one. They look like something from the set of Jurassic Park. They are really great trees.

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They are indeed interesting trees. Our block has them planted along the sidewalk. The funny thing is that they planted female trees!