Best time of year to move ferns?

4 years ago

I have ferns amid the hostas in a particular naturalistic, woodsy bed. I am revamping the bed and decided to move the taller ferns to the back where they can help conceal the neighbor’s fence. Most of the hostas in that area are not tall enough to be seen amid them.

The ferns all came from a succession of plant swaps so I don’t know what they are. Could be ostrich ferns, but most are not tall enough to qualify. 2 feet is typical. I think they are lady ferns, or a mix of the two. They are lovely and I don’t want to kill them, just move them.

I started moving them to the desired location this summer, only to have them die (or go dormant?). When I originally planted them it was in late May. Most of these were just ripped out of the ground and brought to the swap in a plastic bag! So I figured they were not picky about transplantation. But yet they are not surviving when I dug them. They have been watered, plus we have had adequate rain - most of the time.

Some of the ferns that were ALREADY in the back all along, have died off for some unknown reason. Maybe that area – higher up on a slight incline – is insufficiently moisture retentive.

So… is spring the best time to move ferns? I will hold off if that is the best time. Thanks.

Featured Answer

StevePA6a

4 years ago

djacobz, as someone who grows lots of ferns, I'm fairly certain what you have pictured is ostrich ferns, and not lady ferns.

linnea, I'm kind of assuming, by your description of dying back, that yours are also ostrich ferns. Very typical of them to brown out and go dormant in the heat, and lack of rain, of our usual summers.

Another thing with O ferns, height is determined by how happy they are with the soil and moisture. I have some 5 footers in a nice spot, and some others that came from the 5' patch, in a very inhospitable place under mature white pines, that are only 1-1/2 feet tall. They keep spreading, but don't get tall.

It should be no problem at all, to transplant them after they die down. No need for repetitive watering either, just an initial watering when you transplant (soil dependent, of course).

If they would happen to be some other type of fern, as long as you can scoop up most of the root mass in a clump of soil to move it, it shouldn't be a problem either. I've moved many ferns this way, at all times of the growing season, and I can't remember losing any. My dry shade garden is pretty much proof, that most ferns don't need all that much moisture to succeed. I'm sure my heavy soil makeup is a good part of the equation, but ferns have been some of the easiest plants for me to grow.

Dwarf lady ferns in foreground

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

lindalana 5b Chicago
4 years ago
Depends on whether they are fussy ones. Most of them can be moved anytime.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked lindalana 5b Chicago
djacob Z6a SE WI
4 years ago
A picture would be helpful. I have ferns, I think lady ferns. They do self seed. They used to be all along the neighbors fence, but they traveled to another spot in the yard and are growing fine. I have dug the “bulb” if that’s what you call it. Brown an kind of spikey looking, and just dug a hole somewhere else and put it in. The fern won’t return the same year (I don’t think) but it should come up next spring.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked djacob Z6a SE WI
Related Discussions
Best time to move perrenials?
Q
Comments (2)
If you can keep up with watering them for the first year, whenever you have a shovel in your hand and the ground is workable, then you can move the perennials. The problem in the summer and during the first winter is lack of adequate watering. The disturbed root systems can't take up enough in dry soil conditions to support the top growth and if you cut the top back too much the plant can't produce enough food to regrow the damaged roots.
...See More
Moving cimicifuga, best time and technique?
Q
Comments (4)
PM2, I moved mine once in a late fall and it was a half of the former self the next year. I also moved another one in an early spring immediately right after new growth become apparent and while that move didn't affected overall size of the plant it skip bloom that year, but bloomed ever since. Be it a rule or just my individual experience i don't know.
...See More
Best time to move Virginia Bluebells ?
Q
Comments (3)
I think right now would be best. You can see them-they haven't melted away yet-and further, it's right in line with the plants' energy flow to get moved right now, and have some warm weather to get settled in, even if this does interrupt one flowering period, if that is the case-that the seedlings even would have bloomed this year. Alternative would be to flag the patch so you can find the root crowns, but I think it riskier to do it that way, in that you will have lost your visual ques. +om
...See More
Best time to make a move on this beauty? Florida Haworthia ;)
Q
Comments (6)
Carter Harry grows many, many succulents and he knows what he is talking about... I separated mine since it was in much smaller pot and really crowded. They spend winter indoors (I am in Canada) and summer outside. If in full sun, they will turn much darker, brownish-reddish color. Mine will probably never grow as long as yours, since the climate is so different. I washed off all soil, got rid of very few dead-looking roots, but didn't prune them. After letting roots dry for few hours, I potted them up. Some ppl do major root pruning, I do it if there is big, tangled root ball with very long roots. Not sure how drastically I would prune roots on these...? Your soil mix sounds fine to me, maybe just refresh as Harry suggested. Did you check roots on the separated plant? The soil looks wet in your photo - if too wet, the roots will die. Apparently the roots will regrow, but they can't sit in wet soil. Rina ps: check this thread - there is a photo&link to someones blog (toward the end) that pruned rootd of haworthias very drastically: more about haws
...See More
dbarron
4 years ago
If a decidious fern, I'd move as or slightly after leaves die down.

If an evergreen, probably a month or two before new growth starts in spring (don't want to break off the new growth).
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked dbarron
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
djacobz568sewi , mine look just like yours. Same kind of protruding "nose" at the center.

dbaron, they are deciduous. I have a few evergreen Christmas ferns. I don't care what happens to those ! :) Habit for those is prostrate and so I never see them amid everything else.
mxk3 z5b_MI
4 years ago
^^ Steve - that bed is beautiful, I just LOVE it! Nothing like a good, lush shade bed!

In general, I find ferns to be very tough, easy to grow plants. But IME, Ostrich ferns are too tempermental, so I don't bother anymore. Their stems get blown down and break if the spot is too windy, and they toast to a crisp if it's too dry. I've had much better luck with Lady ferns if you want a taller fern, but here again you do have to be careful about too much wind (they're not as easily wind-blown as the Ostrich, though). For dry soil, Autumn fern (dryoperteris) can't be beat, and the silvery-blue Japanese painted ferns absolutely glow in the shade and are easy to grow.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked mxk3 z5b_MI
StevePA6a
4 years ago
My favorite tall fern is Dixie Wood Fern, dryopteris x Australis. The clump expands but doesn't run.

Agree mxk, I don't recommend ostrich ferns to anyone, look great in the spring, but rubbish by mid summer.

For anyone interested, Sebright Gardens in Oregon, has a pretty large selection of hardy ferns to check out and research.
linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago) thanked StevePA6a
stoc zone 6 sweden
4 years ago
I like Sword Ferns they are tall and are tough.

Best time of year to move ferns?

StevePA6a

Comments (8)

lindalana 5b Chicago

djacob Z6a SE WI

Related Discussions

dbarron

linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author

mxk3 z5b_MI

StevePA6a

stoc zone 6 sweden

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Best time of year to move ferns?

StevePA6a

Comments (8)

lindalana 5b Chicago

djacob Z6a SE WI

Related Discussions

dbarron

linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)Original Author

mxk3 z5b_MI

StevePA6a

stoc zone 6 sweden

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
Original Author