Re: ferns

James,
    The least expensive route is to sow spores yourself. You get
literally hundreds of plants for almost no effort.
    One fall I cut off a frond of Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum' (Japanese
Painted Fern) and put it into a paper bag to dry. In January I
sterilized a small pot of Pro-Mix by pouring boiling water over the
surface until the water ran out the bottom, waiting five minutes, then
repeating two more times. After the soil cooled completely (it took all
day) I sowed the spores onto the soil (don't cover the spores with
soil), put the pot into a large Baggie, and sealed the Baggie with a
twist wire. I kept in the basement near the grow lights and promptly
forgot about it.
    About six weeks later I remembered the pot and found the soil
covered with mossy-looking growth. I kept the pot in the Baggie but
misted the mossy growth every few days. Prothalli appeared within a few
weeks -- they looked like little, green, mouse ears. I moved the pot to
directly under the fluorescent grow lights and kept the bag sealed and
the prothalli misted.
    When little stems appeared, I transplanted 144 (!) of the plantlets
and composted the rest. They went into one of those seed-starting trays
with individual cells and a clear plastic cover. Kept them misted and
growing happily under the lights.
    By late summer they were large enough to plant outside. The only
tricky part was getting them hardened off. Outdoor light didn't bother
them but leaving their misted, closed dome did.

Janet

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