How to Grow Ferns in Wisconsin

Growing ferns for Wisconsin gardens is a simple process.

Ferns prefer to grow in dark, moist areas, making them an attractive addition to the shaded areas on your property where many sun-loving garden plants would struggle to survive. According to the Milwaukee Public Museum, Wisconsin is the home of over 60 species of ferns. Cultivating ferns in a Wisconsin home garden is a simple process and can easily be done by collecting spores from the many varieties of wild ferns found in the state.

Things You'll Need

• Planting container
• Fern spores
• White paper
• Shovel
• Peat soil
• Spray bottle
• Watering container

Instructions

Instructions

1. Locate ferns you would like to propagate and collect fern spores in June or July from Wisconsin forests. Ferns reproduce by spores, which are located on the underside of fern leaves in structures called "sori." Soris vary in size and color by species.

2. Remove the fern leaf and place it between two sheets of white paper. Ripe spores will be released from the sori within a day or two.

3. Fold the bottom paper gently and tap it to concentrate the spores along the folded portion of the paper. There should be a large number of tiny spores visible.

4. Prepare small planting pots by placing peat soil in the pots and misting them with a spray bottle.

5. Sprinkle the spores over the potting containers and move the containers to a location without direct sunlight. Do not mix the spores into the peat soil. In a few weeks, a small growth should start to develop. This stage of fern development is called the "prothalli," and within a few weeks of its appearance small fern shoots should develop.

6. Mist the ferns lightly several times each day to provide the humidity needed for their proper development. New fern growth uncurls from structures called "fiddleheads." Once the fern is 1 inch tall it can be safely transplanted to a shaded area in your garden, where it will unfurl into a fern similar to the one from which you collected the spores.

References

• Milwaukee Public Museum: Our Fine, Feathery Ferns: A Sight for Sori
• University of Minnesota: Sustainable Urban Landscape Information: Propagation
• University of New Hampshire Extension: Growing Ferns

Resources

• Ohio State University: Pterophyta