Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
Not Yet Rated

Tuesday - October 25, 2011

From: Temple, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Propagation, Transplants, Shade Tolerant, Ferns
Title: transplanting Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris)
Answered by: Guy Thompson

QUESTION:

Behind our house is a huge grotto with a spring flowing through it that runs into a creek. Because of the constant flow of water, there are many of the Maidenhair Ferns (Adiantum capillus-veneris). I have never seen this in a local nursery, but I would love to have this in our garden. I was going to transplant one of them, but every single one is in the limestone rock. Will it kill the plant if I pull it out of the rock and put it in a garden with rich blackland soil? Any ideas? Thanks!

ANSWER:

The Maidenhair ferns that cling onto the limestone almost always are embedded in a small (or very small) pocket in the stone.  I have had good luck carefully prising these out using a small- tipped trowel or a screwdriver.  There is generally a little bit of soil around the root, and this will protect the root until the fern is placed in moist soil.  I am much more successful when selecting the smallest fern plant that I can find, perhaps ones with a single frond only a few inches long.  

You didn't say if the grotto is on your own property (mine is!).  Be careful not to create a hole in the beautiful green face of the grotto wall when you remove a plant.  I spend much time looking for just the right little plant to remove without spoiling the beauty of the cascading ferns.

The transplanted ferns should be kept in a nearly saturated soil out of direct sunlight until they begin to grow.  But the soil should not be waterlogged.  The ideal site is one on a porous stone or slope where water trickles down over the ferns and keeps the roots well oxygenated.

Maidenhair fern can also be propagated from spores, which form in summer on little dots regularly spaced on the underside of the leaves.  When these dots look black, remove the leaves and dry them in a paper bag.  The almost microscopic spores will be released into the bag.  If these are sprinkled onto moist peat-enriched soil and kept moist in a transparent plastic-covered container the spores will germinate into tiny plantlets.

Once the Maidenhair fern is established it becomes fairly resistent to drying.  The tender fronds will turn brown, but the roots will remain viable and send out new fronds when moisture returns.  Consult Internet sites such as this for more information on these beautiful plants.

 

More Transplants Questions

Propagation of Asclepias tuberosa
June 18, 2012 - Re: Asclepias tuberosa, "butterfly weed" bush -- I have a bed in a mix of Shoal Creek well-drained caliche, soil, and some enrichment of mulch that gets almost full sun and low water. After 4 yrs a...
view the full question and answer

Freeze-resistant palms for Central Texas
November 09, 2012 - I live in Lytton Springs just north of Lockhart. What is a good hardy palm that I can get that will grow without the worry of freeze?
view the full question and answer

Transplant shock for non-native Plumbago auriculata
May 19, 2008 - I planted some full plumbago plants that were in containers, in a partially shaded area, they had beautiful flowers when I purchased them, but have since lost them all and the plant is looking very wi...
view the full question and answer

Transplanting seedlings washed out of area by rain
February 17, 2007 - I sowed a rather large area in my wild back yard in wildflowers. There is no grass. A few weeks later after we had been watering them because of no rain (in Sept), we got way too much rain and many o...
view the full question and answer

Transplanted crabapple tree problems in Alberta
June 18, 2009 - We transplanted a crabapple tree a couple of weeks ago. There was an abundance of clay in the soil where it was re-planted and even with all the watering, it isn't doing well. Any suggestions on how ...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.