Thelypteris kunthii - Southern Shield Fern - Plant in 9 cm Pot

Ferns are a delight for any garden that can provide their basic requirements. They fill that space that few other plants will thrive in and at the same time bring colour and form to please. A rich, always moist but free draining, neutral or acid soil, with plenty of organic matter, in a shady location is ideal. A small amount of sun early or late in the day will not harm but may darken the colour of the foliage. Thelypteris kunthii (sometimes called Christella normalis) is native to the southern USA and much of the northern areas of South America. Rare in production in the Uk it is an attractive, deciduous, epipetric (grows on rocks) fern with lime to mid green, gracefully arching fronds, that is easy to grow and maintain. It has excellent heat tolerance and should be hardy in all but the coldest areas of the Uk. down to around -7C. As a precaution you should give some winter protection. Mulch heavily or take pot grown plants undercover. Grows well in a shady, sheltered position, in any reasonable quality, moist soil including alkaline soils. Will tolerate full sun if the soil is moist and drought once established. A very attractive fern worthy of a place in the right location. Thelypteris kunthiican be grown very successfully in pots and containers as long as you can reproduce the basic requirements, and especially the need for constant moisture. Use a good quality peat or peat substitute compost. Be very careful with cheap peat free composts that often dry out very quickly. Ferns generally require a constant feed of nutrients so please ensure you feed regularly as a hungry plant is a poor performer. We recommend Osmoscote pro 8 - 9 month applied in the early spring as growth begins. One application gives all the nutrients the plant requires. Please note: The images we use are designed to show the features that the plant is usually appreciated for. They are not representative of the size of plant you will receive. The size of the plant pot can be found in the listing title. Please send us a message if you have any queries.