I have no idea what Preen is, but I might be able to help with the issue of "ferns spreading." There are only a couple of ferns that are likely to spread by root runners through the whole bed. Most ferns will stay put and just bulk up where you've planted them and won't spread whether you Preen or not. Some may spread by spores, which is the ferny equivalent of self-seeding. If Preen is some sort of a pre-emergent herbicide, then it will probably also kill fern spores, but it probably won't stop the root runners from sprouting. It all depends on what kinds of ferns you have - feel free to post the names here and someone can tell you how they grow, or look them up on the web or in a book...

I haven't read this thread in a while- I wish I had kept up because this question is quite interesting. It sucks that the plant croaked- believe me that was one amazing swan song you witnesed. The ones available at Home Depot / Walmart might have poor root systems and low humidity stress while they were in transit probably helped as well- especially in tough weather like winter or mid summer. For people who hate to see 10 dollar ferns die (like moi) there are a few great options. 1. The "Medusa fern" which looks real cute with curled fronds vary in length looking like a head of swinging snakes. It tends to get wild and woolly when taken home (and away from growth retardants) Mine looked so gorgeous in the store I nearly died when I saw it- it still looks great but it has grown like mad.The tag "Medusa" fits it to a T. I only water it every week or so- no problems yet. I'm sure once the central heat is on I will have to water more frequently to counter the dry hot air. 2. Button fern- this plant from Australia likes direct indoor sun (forget what the books say- it loves it and grows like mad when it gets it) it's leathery round leaves stand low humidity well and it doesn't need as much water as other ferns but be careful not to let it go thirsty for too long- it will drop or brown it's leaves and start all over again- you will have a sorry looking plant till it comes back. 3. Mother fern- this plant likes cool rooms and can easily stand the low humidity and irregular watering most busy indoor garderners put it through. As a reward it will bud tiny versions of it's self on all it's leaves and give you plenty of plant babies to raise and give to your friends. 4. Cobra fern- this plant is tropical so it likes high temps just fine. It is one tough mother! I had to wrench one from a pot it had over grown and it lost ALL of it's new root stock- no problem it just grew some more. This plant can get really huge so get a nice pot and watch it- when you find it reaching unmanageable height chop the longer fronds off. I have one called "serrated" which has one frond is 2.5 feet long! I put it in a low shelf and cheer it's exuberance. 5. Asparagus fern- there are 5 or 6 mainstream varieties- they all do well in low humidity with plenty of sun. I watch the watering and only water when the soil feels on the dry side. These are very fast growers- one plant I bought changed pots twice this summer and grew 3 pot sizes. Another variety which was half dead when I spent 2 bucks out of pity for it changed pots once which is amazing since I ain't E.T. Anyway I encourage everyone I know to buy ferns- I want to start a new Victorian fern craze! Help me in this romantic endavor- you will have my eternal gratitude.

esh - the other leaves are False Indigo. About the Baptisia, do think I could propagate it? I've never tried, but I could. Acording to Dave's, "Propagation Methods: From seed; direct sow outdoors in fall From seed; winter sow in vented containers, coldframe or unheated greenhouse From seed; stratify if sowing indoors From seed; germinate in a damp paper towel Scarify seed before sowing" But I don't recall seeing seed pods.... I guess I need to pay closer attention. In the meantime, I could put a stem in water and see what happens.

I have a silver fern that was sold to me as Japanese painted fern 'Ursula's Red' but I don't believe it. Not as much red painting as the catalog, for sure. Mine took about two years to get hefty; divided in the third year. I envy your heuchera collection. Hey, can anybody tell me the name of my small unknown hosta, blue and in bloom, to the right of the fern? The one the fish is looking at? Otherwise, from fish, clockwise: mystery hosta, undulata 'Kiwi Spearmint' lookalike (no, it's not HVX), 'Pacific Blue Edger', 'Blue Moon' (I think; hard to read the tag and it's dark out now!), and 'Winfield Blue.' Click on the photo to see it larger, but drat! Photobucket now limits free accounts to 800 pixels wide; this was meant to be seen at 1280 wide, so you'd really be able to see the red and "painting." Oh, well. Flickr, here I come...