ferns

[loeckenj]

I have some resurection ferns for my new vivarium thats under constr.are there any ferns that do not grow big wanting to plant one on a stump that is molded into the wall any ideas?

[Lasher]

I suppose that depends on your definition of big, but there are plenty of ferns suitable for vivaria. Polypodium formosana is a favourite of mine, it grows a fantastic surface root structure which looks great in vivariums. Coreopteris cordata is unusual looking and very compact, and there are many 'dwarf' species such as Platycerium ellisii and Asplenium antiquum.
Those four spring to mind as I have them in my vivs right now, there are plenty more if you look around a bit.

[ill will]

if the stump has a smallish socket you can plant it in, that could help restrict growth of even a larger species. its the bonsai concept (minus all the pruning); you know, like growing a 50-year old maple tree in a six-inch wide two-inch deep pot. the root structure must be proportional to the foliage structure for the plant to live, so if there is no room for roots to grow, the leaves wont multiply and the plant will be forced to stay small. hope that helps

[loeckenj]

thanks for the info

[harrywitmore]

Originally Posted by loeckenj

I have some resurection ferns for my new vivarium thats under constr.are there any ferns that do not grow big wanting to plant one on a stump that is molded into the wall any ideas?

What are you referring to as 'resurrection fern'? I see this name applied to 2 very different plants and neither are a great choice. Polypodium polypodioides is OK if you can get it to adapt to a vivarium. Most all is collected and therefor hard to establish but it can be done. Selaginella lepidophylla (sometimes called dinosaur plant and resurrection plant is all collected and basically dead. It will look OK for a while but it will not grow and is a waste of money. It's more of a dry climate plant anyway.

As for a fern for your location, it would be nice to see a picture. In my experience Asplenium antiquum and any Platycerium are much to large. Polypodium formosana is a nice fern but also gets pretty large. I'm not sure where you are located but I have never even seen Coreopteris cordata offered in the US (I could have missed seeing it) so I can't say anything about it. There are lots of miniature creeping ferns which would work such as Asplenium cuspidatum, Microgramma reptans, piloselloides, vaccinifolia, Pyrrosia nummularifolium, Davallia parvula, repens, heterophylla and Lemmephyllum microphyllum. There are more but these are some very small ferns that come to mind.

[loeckenj]

the fern I am calling a ressurection fern is pleopeltis polypodioides,I placed a section on a piece of driftwood in my established vivarium approx 6 months ago and it has rooted to the wood stays green all the time,its very healthy and is spreading very well my dendrobates azureus love hiding in them. I was wanting more of a bushy type fern for my new vivarium with the pleopeltis polypodioides lining the walls,I currently have about 2 square feet of bark with the ferns on it, I keep them dry until a day before I plan on mounting them,It takes a few hours of them being wet before they look new again, thanks alot for everyone helping me with my fern decision making

[Pavel]

I can't speak for the other members folks, but I would be quite grateful if you could perhaps give me an idea of just how "small"/short we're talking here.