Garden Decor - The Exuberant Sword Fern

The Sword Fern is easy to grow and rewards your care with its luxuriant and elegant fronds that drape delicately over the sides of hanging baskets of plant pots.

Sword Ferns come from tropical and subtropical regions. They grow in lovely arching rosette shapes and, in the wild, spread by runners. They are really beautiful plants that can look great as well as improving your garden decor; their leaves or fronds are evergreen and slashed into spiky shapes. On large sword ferns individual fronds may be over 1m long. The green fronds grow upright at first, then arch gracefully downwards. These ferns need plenty of room to develop their long fronds. Rotate the plant from time to time to ensure symmetrical growth, but as far as possible leave it undisturbed.

Varieties

There are many varieties. Some are large, some quite small and compact. Some have smooth fronds while others have wavy or curly ones, often described as cristate. The Boston Fern is the oldest and probably the most popular variety. Its fronds are broad and deeply arched. Easily obtainable are the Lace Fern Whitmanii and the Rooseveltii. Both have finely divided feathery fronds.

Display Ideas

A mature sword fern, with its cascading mass of fronds will look impressive in any setting. Stand it on a medium height cane table to create a nostalgic hint of the Victorian era when ferns were even more popular than they are today, believe it or not. Sword ferns are ideal plants for hanging baskets. But remember that hanging baskets tend to dry out quickly, so check that the compost has not dried out. Many people like to put ferns in their bathrooms but only do this if the light is bright. Ferns will lose their feathery fronds if light levels in the rooms are consistently low. These beautiful plants provide beautiful leaf shape and texture contrast.

You can also place these lovely plants around your patio to give it that Spanish look, or in the greenhouse to add freshness. Place near garden mirrors to add depth to your outdoor areas as well as a magical sense of space creating illusion with the display.

Making New Plants

You can divide sword ferns in spring when repotting using 2 strong forks. Repot the divisions or offsets in a rich, well drained potting mixture. Keep them evenly most and mist frequently or stand on a tray of moist pebbles to ensure high humidity.

They can also be propagated by this method:

1. When spores are apparent on the underside of the frond, place it in a plastic bag and gently tap the front to release the brown spores.

2. Pour boiling water over peat moss. When the water has drained off, carefully tap the spores over the peat and enclose in a plastic bag.

3. When green shoots appear, make holes in the plastic for ventilation. A month or so later, pot up the new plants individually.

Looking after your Plant

Sword ferns do not tolerate dry air. They need a high level of humidity. Provide this by misting them regularly.

Keep a hand spray filled with soft water, if possible, and mist frequently during daylight hours. Better still, stand the pot on a tray with moist pebbles. This provides added humidity all the time. The result will be continued growth of fresh green foliage.

Smilarly, group all your ferns in the bathroom once a week for a gentle shower with tepid water. Take care when you are doing this not to bruise the edges of the leaves. Leave them in the bath to drain before returning them to their usual positions.

General Care

Generally easy to care for, make sure good light and high humidity are available. Remove any withered fronds as they occur. Turn the plant round so it grows in an even shape.

Repot and divide in spring using a peat based potting mixture with a quarter sand or vermiculite added to the mixture for good drainage. In summer, your plant will need lots of water and frequent misting. Do not let the potting mixture dry out. In winter it will need less water.

Water your hanging basket ferns by plunging in a bath or bucket of water, to cover the soil surface. Let it absorb water for fifteen to thirty minutes.

Feed with a liquid fertilizer every fortnight from March to August. In summer, most sword ferns will have enough light. In winter, see that they are in a light position. They can survive for several weeks – up to about 5 – with low light levels.

Buying Tips

These lovely plants are available all year from garden centers and nurseries. Buy fresh green looking plants of a reasonable size. Given good light and adequate humidity it will grow for many years. Small plants will fit onto windowsills but larger once will need more space and should be grown a little further into the room.

Remember, ferns will only flourish in bathrooms if there is good light. They will love the high humidity levels but make sure that the light is bright but indirect.