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| Photo Credit: Megan Bame |
| Can you spot the “baby fern” in this picture? It’s just below the base of the pot – look for the little ball with two fronds and spiderlike roots. |
In the South, Boston ferns (Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Bostoniensis’), are the traditional warm-season accessory to the front porch overhang. And when the temperature begins to dip, many front porch gardeners choose to overwinter their ferns by moving them to a basement or sunroom. This is quite a task, since the plants may be huge by fall, taking up significant space. Moving them also creates a perpetual mess with dropped leaves (due to the temporary inadequate light conditions), until it’s warm enough for them to return to their stately porch position. Other homeowners choose to start fresh every year, purchasing a small fern that they’ll have the pleasure of watching grow. But why not practice your windowsill gardening by propagating your own ferns from last year’s plants?
In nearly every horticulture or botany course, ferns are used as the prime example of plants that reproduce by spores. Often the class will embark on a semester-long project to witness the growth from tiny spore to tiny plant. (Trust me, it’s a slow process.) While it’s important to understand the science of this diverse group of plants, you should also be aware that there are other methods of propagation that aren’t nearly as time-consuming. What’s more, you don’t have to be an experienced gardener to do it! Division might very well top that propagation-method list. Close examination of a large fern will likely reveal crowns that can each be separated and individually potted to make lots of small “starter” ferns. If you want to create more manageable, medium-sized ferns, you can simply remove the fern from its pot, cut the plant’s root-ball into four equal parts (like a pie, quartered) and replant each part.
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