I’ve noticed that nearly all the ferns that survived last fall are beginning to show new growth this spring. The only exception might be one fern that hasn’t emerged yet, but I believe it could still break through the leaves and pine needles. The recent warm days in the 80s have resulted in a noticeable growth spurt. In the photo above, you can see a Lenten Rose in the foreground on the left and a Wood Fern on the right, while the other ferns are in the background, basking in the early morning sunshine.
Some younger and smaller ferns are starting from scratch this year, as seen in the photo of the wood fern below.
Every summer, we fill a large container with ferns under one of the trees in our front yard. Most often, we use Boston ferns or wood ferns, but last year, we had a more unusual type of fern. I transferred both of them to the hillside fern patch last fall, but I can’t recall what type of fern they were. Once they fully emerge this year, I’ll be able to look them up.
This is the second year for the Japanese Painted Fern, as shown in the photo below.
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It’s 38° here but I can see some plants emerging. I’ll need a better macro lens than whot I have to capture them, though. Nice to see them.
Thank you, Ken. Yesterday morning, the low temperature here was 38°F, following two days this past weekend with highs over 85°F. All these photos were taken using my iPhone 14 Pro, which performs well for this type of photography. Take care, and have a good upcoming weekend!
Lookin’ good! Mine are still afraid to poke their heads up — for good reason – they got snowed on today.
It sounds like the ferns there are smart to stay “tucked in” a little longer. This winter, we only had 10-14 days of low temperatures in the teens, so the plants seem to be ahead of normal this spring. While most people here are in shorts, maybe you shouldn’t put away your winter gear just yet.
Thanks, Mark.
Thank you for keeping us up to date on this hillside project. Success seems to be the theme as nature does its miraculous thing! I tired planting Colorado wildflower seeds a couple years ago along the edge of the grass and the ponds but nothing. So, I will enjoy your fern project instead.
It’s been great to see the ferns returning this spring. This is a good start, but I still have more work to do further up the hill.