Great pics of fronts & looks like you have the ID on most. I love ferns, too. I can't help you much as I'm from western WA with different ferns; however, I thought it might be helpful to remember what type of soil the ferns prefer... humus rich with some tolerating dryness once established. Also, fern growth is a mound & those might be a bit too close to the brick wall to mature into their lovely mounds. Some ferns here grow 12" crowns, so need a lot more space that it appears you've given them. Maybe you can go back to the woodland areas of your place to view the mature specimens growth & gather more forest humus for the new plantings. I've moved some of our native ferns from our backyard forest to inside the fenced area for a fuller native garden section. If I get a large enough rootball + the native soil & move them early in the season to get spring rains they thrive. I also mulch with lots of my bagged shredded maple leaves as they would have in the forest, but without the weed seeds :o). Some like licorice fern grow on rotting logs, so you must move the piece of log & it pulls off easily with your hands to set on top of humus rich soil in similar light conditions. If I move them later once we have dry summer weather I have to water them weekly and daily in 90 degree weather if I want them to make it. Maybe you can grow native wildflowers there, too. Ours mostly bloom in spring, so I also plant our native ferns in my mixed beds for contrast. Corrine

I understand your being hesitant to repot the plants again so soon after the first repot. I was in the same situation. Folks here told me that I could leave my plant in the less than optimum soil and hope for the best or get them into soil where it will thrive asap. I went for the second repot and my plant is doing great. I'm currently in SW Florida, zone 10A, but I grew up in zone 6 in Portsmouth, OH. While regular potting soil works so-so in Ohio, and my mother still uses it, I think you may do better with at least a cactus and succulent soil. You still need to mix at least 50/50 perlite or pumice with the soil. Every succulent that I used potting soil on when I lived in Toledo died from rot. I didn't think I was overwatering, but the plants did. I think the soil was a big factor. Hopefully the sun will be shining for you soon! It will lift your spirits and help your plants thrive.

Thanks! I planted a lot more ferns and have more pics? Can anyone help identify these? One of them is a log fern but I don't know which one is. Fern 1: Fern 2: I'm pretty sure this is an Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris)Just want a confirmation :) Fern 3: I think this is defiantly a sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis). It looks the least "fern-like" than all the ferns I planted IMHO. Fern 4: I think this is a lady fern (Athyrium felix-femina). It was purchased from Home Depot or Lowes. I forget which. Fern 5: From research I think this is a Japanese Painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum). It looks wonderful. I hope it grows in as it only has a few fronds. Fern 6: I know this is a Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides). I just thought I would post a few pics of my new clumps. Fern 7: I'm not sure what this is. I love the shiny fronds! It has hairy (not really hair) on its stem (I'm sure it's not really a stem). Fern 8: Not sure what this is either. Fern 9: This is also a no ID fern. It is by far the largest. Very tall. Fern 10: This is a Ebony Spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron). It has grown a little bit since I planted it. Here are a few pics of all the ferns. I can't wait until they grow in next year! Thanks all! T.J.

LOL, don't hold your breath about Lowes having the same product now if it has been long enough, unless you are sure you can find the pile you pulled it off. I just looked at my bag and it has the same label and color scheme on the bag (though it was identical at first glance) except it is not labeled "dolomitic lime', but rather "Gardenlime" and under that in big bold letters "great calcium and magnesium source" of something to that effect. So Lowes clearly has at least two versions of 40 pound bags. Either way, it is plenty enough so this is not something to worry about for yours at this point and may never be. You had just asked about details and I pulled it out of thin air as an example of the sorts of details that we can get bogged down in. The lime is not your problem now, that's for sure. The filling with water is iffy if you really are under such water usage for that plant, especially with a cover to discourage evaporation that it has, but maybe you are in AZ or something. To be honest I'm skeptical it is using all that water and would measure a better baseline for another couple of days and keep track of it, since I don't want to give you bad advice and I really am not there to be talking. If you find it is using 1.5 gallons per day, then every two days is fine and what I'm shooting for in my head at this point. The plants could easily require more as they get bigger but we're talking now... Don't forget the soil is saturated and has a lot of water capacity too before the wicking action will be lost. It could add another gallon or two, so there is a little safety built in as long as the plants don't cake-dry the setup. Those are just mullings since you may have a better hands on feel than I do, but it's what I'm thinking. In Florida a tomato plant your size would still drink less than 2 liters in the heat, but we have a higher humidity to deal with so that's what I'm concerned I might err on. Hope those thoughts help, as you experiment. around. PC