Hey karalynn. It is possible that the ferns are differently acclimated. A few years ago I tried very hard to transfer some ferns collected in central Florida to Indiana. Despite using a half dozen different methods, none of them lasted more than that season. I'm usually pretty good at that. On the other hand, ferns purchased here from a grower who comes up every summer from Florida, do pretty well. She says she doesn't grow anything but the common stock purchased, selected and grown for this area. A lot of the problem is the soil. Florida sand, Indiana clay. Seems to me I remember Alabama having a lot of red clay, but I could be wrong. Ferns still do best in mostly oak leaf mould so far as I can tell. Florida's ferns have some strange adaptations from what I saw.

I hate for this to degenerate into an argument but the listing of ferns for dry shade I presented is not limited to the PNW - it came from research into various species of ferns that were adaptable to quite dry conditions and from Ferns for American Gardens by John Mickel, which I consider the 'bible' for fern growing :-) And I'd also like to point out that much of this country has a very incorrect impression of the dampness of the PNW. Most of this area experiences a much lower annual rainfall than most of the east coast and many parts of the midwest - the rainy season just tends to extend from midfall into early summer but at a very light rate (usually). And this is considered a recurring summer drought area, often experiencing NO measurable rainfall from midsummer until late fall. Add to that our dry shade here tends to be provided by the large native conifers that grow everywhere and dry shade under a 60' western red cedar is equal to or exceeds any other dry shade you could manufacture! Even in the middle of winter at the height of the rainy season, this is an area that can remain bone dry. All of the listed ferns will succeed under these conditions once properly established.

From what I've read, the "typical" fluorescent bulb has a wattage of about 10 watts per foot. So, 4-foot shop light uses 40-watt bulbs, and a 2-foot shop light uses 20 (or 18) watt bulbs. The ends of the bulbs, nearest the ballasts, aren't as efficient as the middle, even when the bulb is new. So, for a 4-foot shop light, the last 4-6 inches aren't receiving as much light as the center (I try to compensate for this by switching the flats around every few days). This also makes the shorter fixtures less effective in delivering light to your plants--if the last 6-inches of the each end is weaker light, a large chunk of your 2-foot fixture is less effective, compared to a 4-foot fixture. Speaking of which, I'm off to buy more shop lights, since several died on me last spring (guess I should try to be more careful and not spill so much water on the darn things!!) Emily in FRIGID Fairbanks

Sa, from the time mine was tiny to about a year ago, it was tied (in a pot lined w/ plastic wrap) to the top of my bromeliad tree. It got decent light from a south window and from some fl. lights but not GREAT light. I would water it with r/o water periodically. I'd pretty well drench it and then ignore it for a good week or two. Often when I would next water, it had become SUPER light from being so dry. It got too big so i de-mounted it from the tree and this past summer it was in my backyard. It hung under an oak tree for awhile and then hung from a post where it could get a bit more light. Currently its hanging from the ceiling in one of my plant areas. In fact, I just posted some pics on the orchid forum and you can see the staghorn in one of them. I kinda feel that its just time that makes them big. It doesn't seem fussy at all and tolerates really bad conditions so I think just wait a bit longer. Maybe someone else has some better tips, or you could try the moss/fern forum.