So much of "easy" or "difficult" depends on growing conditions. Carlisleliverpool finds "Boston" ferns easy in the UK; I bet folks in Tucson would have a very different view! Since you're Z5, I'll assume your conditions are similar to mine. Dry air is my ferns' biggest enemy much of the year. As a general rule, the thicker and more leathery the fronds, the lower humidity the plants can tolerate. The commonly available staghorn ferns with their big thick antler fronds can get flat out dry in humidity that's low enough to be uncomfortable for us humans, and they sail right along. (But give one to an Excessive Nurturer - i.e. overwaterer - and it won't last so long.) The most commonly available Pteris ferns, though (and there are something like 250 different species, so this is a generalization), with their paper-thin fronds will tend to look ugly pretty fast when the humidity is low. I grow in conditions of very good light (including some direct morning sun), humid summers with cool nights, quite cool winters with low humidity, and I let all but the most delicate ferns dry out a bit between waterings. That said, in my conditions, most difficult to easiest, with some duplicate commonly-grown forms separated out: 1) Adiantum (raddianum & similar sp.) 2) Pteris 3) Adiantum (again...hispidulum and similar species) 4) Nephrolepis (Boston types and curly cv's thereof. Not so difficult to keep alive as difficult to keep looking nice. They need a fair amount of grooming & cleaning up after.) 5) Asplenium (Look for the thicker-fronded species and cv's to be more durable than those with thin, broad fronds.) 6) tie- Nephrolepis (Lemon Button or Kimberly Queen - a little messy, but very tolerant) 6) tie- Phlebodium aureum (syn. Polypodium aureum Some of the crested or fringed cv's are a little touchier. I left my huge P. pseudoaureum dry in the dark garage all last winter. It froze, it died back to ground level, but it came back like a trouper this spring.) 7) tie for easiest- Davallia (..and again, there are many species, some of which I find quite difficult, but I'll assume we're taling about the one most common in cultivation, a variety of D mariesii often mistagged as D. trichomanoides. Easy if you're careful not to rot them. If it gets too dry, they'll go dormant, but they come back out of it nicely. It's not a bad idea to let them dry a little in late fall as they're normally semi-deciduous. 7) tie for easiest - Platycerium bifurcatum (They'll tolerate heat, cold, dry, almost anything but soggy poorly-aerated substrate or prolonged cold/wet. Hey Toni-- how goes it? Still got the large (and beautiful) citrus collection? Microsorum musifolium (Crocodile) is pretty durable (the fronds are used in flower arrangements, so you can tell they're not overly delicate) but they are vulnerable to leaf spot & die back from overhead watering. I know you like to mist but it's not this particular fern's favorite thing. If you are going to mist it, I'd suggest limiting it to times when you know the plant can dry again quickly (like mornings) and using distilled water.

Thank you, everyone. I have been searching and searching the last couple of days and have finally found it. It is a Sword Fern -- Nephrolepsis cordifolia (or Nephrolepis depending on what website I'm looking at...some leave out the first s and I am not sure which is correct). It's considered an invasive in Florida, apparantly, and I can certainly see why. I slid it out of the bucket I had transplanted it into (didn't have a pot large enough and am waiting for one to come my way on Freecycle) and it has several inches of new root growth. Dozens of the little tubers have shot out roots and are sending up fronds. I did find two that had not and pulled those off to plant. In less than three weeks, many of these new roots are as much as six inches long. WOW. I think this will become a favorite here -- I like easy care / fast growing houseplants.

Laura, I'm not ignoring you, have just been REALLY busy lately! This will need to be short! Yes, I am still growing ferns. All the ones I have are still the ones that were planted in the original "potter's clay," so they're not "spreading" much at all. I still want more--but there are SO many things I want! Some of it gets done and some doesn't! The most successful one I have is the Japanese Painted fern, which has spread "moderately" (again, in HEAVY clay!), and looks great every year. It's just starting to grow for this year. Is usually semi-evergreen, but the wild temp swings Got It, like everything else that's "evergreen" got GOT this year! Next most successful is my Autumn Fern (don't have time to look up genus/species). I love that one because the new fronds coming out have a real bronzy look to them--thus the name! It hasn't really spread much, but it does come back "solidly" every year. "As time permits" I'm still planning to dig my existing ferns to GREATLY improve the soil and then replant them. Some day! The Ostrich fern, which is supposed to be invasive, and the Leatherwood fern both come back--BARELY--with one or two fronds every year. So they "still exist," but sometimes I wonder if I should put them out of their misery! Again, if I ever have time I'll dig and improve the soil--and see if they make it and start doing better. I still want a hardy maidenhair fern some day--and there are plenty of others I'd like to try! I'm not familiar with the Japanese tassel fern, but I looked it up and it IS hardy (I think it was z5), so I'd say plant it outside and see what happens! The more organic matter you put in the soil, the happier it will be! Give it mostly shade--some early morning or very late day sun should be ok. The north side of my (two story) house is already getting some sun I just noticed today. Otherwise keep it fairly wet, and for sure don't let the soil dry completely, or with some ferns they get "suddenly crispy" and, while they usually survive the "trauma," it can take them a long time to recover and grow new fronds. A thick wood mulch would definitely help with moisture retention in the soil--and did I mention LOTS of organic matter! Have to go! Let us know later in the summer how it's going! Skybird

According to Penn State, these are all nematode susceptible: African violet, Anthurium, Boston fern (Nephrolepis), bird's-nest fern (Asplenium), columbine, begonia, Crossandra, Cyclamen, gloxinia, Dahlia, Gerbera, Hibiscus, Lantana, Mimulus, geranium, cineraria, Primula, Ranunculus, Thanksgiving cactus, India rubber tree (Ficus elastica) and iris. Whole article. tj