Buying and Importing Ferns
Adding a new fern to your collection is always exciting, whether it comes from a specialist nursery, garden centre, another grower or further afield. Taking a little time to research what you are buying can help you find the right plant, understand its needs and make informed choices about where your ferns come from.
The principles behind EFG's Towards Ethical Collections framework are useful whenever we acquire new plants: understanding their identity and origin where possible, buying and importing legally, considering how material has been sourced, and retaining useful information about it. These ideas run throughout the guidance on this page.
The number of UK nurseries propagating a wide range of ferns has declined over time, and many plants sold through garden centres now originate with large commercial growers. These ferns may have little or no provenance information and can sometimes be incorrectly or ambiguously named, or sold under outdated names.
If you are looking for a particular species or cultivar, familiarise yourself with the plant before buying and, where possible, choose a reputable supplier who knows their stock.
Bringing a new fern home
Commercially produced ferns are often grown under carefully controlled glasshouse or polytunnel conditions, with regular feeding, watering and managed light. A lush, glossy plant in a garden centre may therefore need time to adjust to very different conditions in your home, greenhouse or garden.
Plants may also have been grown in lightweight substrates and relatively small pots to make commercial transport easier. Check the plant when you get it home and give it a thorough watering if necessary.
Choose plants that look healthy and are not excessively pot-bound. If repotting is needed, use a suitable compost and a slightly larger pot, filling around the existing root ball without burying the crown.
Commercial ferns are sometimes grown from plugs containing several young plants. If these have separate root systems, they may be carefully divided, but avoid unnecessary root damage. If the roots have already grown together into the shape of the pot, it may be better to leave them undisturbed.
Some plug-grown plants also contain a biodegradable mesh that is intended to break down as roots grow through it. Occasionally this does not happen and the mesh restricts root growth. A small ring of mesh around the crown can reveal its presence. If you find one, carefully remove as much as possible without damaging the roots.
Buying ferns online
Buying online gives access to a much wider range of ferns, including specialist nurseries overseas. Don't be put off if a nursery's website is in another language: browser translation tools, such as Google Translate, can make many sites straightforward to navigate. Scientific plant names also make searching and comparing ferns easier across different languages.
There is always a risk that a fern bought online may be incorrectly identified. Misidentification can occur anywhere in the supply chain, from the original grower or wholesaler through to the retailer. Some incorrect names also persist in horticulture as so-called ‘trade names’, even when they refer to a completely different species rather than an accepted synonym.
If identification matters to you, open a dialogue with the seller before ordering and compare the plant with reliable information and photographs.
Think about the journey too. Avoid ordering during a heatwave or particularly cold spell, and consider the weather both where the plant is coming from and where it is going.
Deliveries can be delayed, particularly over long distances or when plants cross international borders. Even with careful planning, packages can be held up or lost, and there is no guarantee that a plant will survive a prolonged journey.
Once it arrives, remember that it may take several months for a fern to acclimatise fully and begin growing strongly enough to go on display.
Do your research
Confirming the identity of a new fern is only part of the story. Find out where it naturally grows and what conditions it needs.
A fern described as ‘tropical’, for example, does not necessarily require constant tropical heat. Some species are surprisingly adaptable, while others have very particular requirements.
Research is especially important when buying an unfamiliar species. It is quite possible to ‘kill a plant with kindness’ by providing conditions that seem beneficial but are wrong for that particular fern. Sometimes it takes a little experimentation to understand what a species needs, so watch new plants carefully while they establish.
Reputable specialist nurseries and recommendations from other growers can both be valuable when looking for unusual plants.
Importing ferns
Importing can give you access to species that are difficult or impossible to obtain in the UK, but it brings additional responsibilities, costs and risks.
Transporting living plants over long distances is never without risk. Plants can be delayed, exposed to unsuitable temperatures or arrive in poor condition through no fault of the seller. An unusual fern may also be uncommon in cultivation because it is genuinely difficult to grow.
Before ordering from overseas, make sure you understand both the likely costs and the conditions the plant will need when it arrives.
Most importantly, check that the plant can legally be imported before you buy it. Do not assume that because an overseas seller is willing to send a fern to the UK, it is legal for you to receive it.
Importing plants legally
Plant-health regulations are designed to reduce the risk of introducing pests and diseases. They apply to private growers as well as commercial businesses.
Plants for planting brought into Great Britain require appropriate plant-health documentation. For plants coming from the EU, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, a phytosanitary certificate is required for plants for planting; plants for planting coming from outside those countries likewise require one. Plants ordered by post are not exempt.
A phytosanitary certificate confirms that the consignment has been officially inspected or tested and meets the relevant plant-health requirements. Depending on the nature and origin of the consignment, additional notification, inspection or other requirements and fees may apply.
If the necessary documentation is missing, plants may be delayed, returned or seized. Rules also differ between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Always check the current official government guidance before placing an order. Do not rely solely on advice from the seller or information from an old forum, social-media post or website. The same principle applies if you bring plants home yourself after travelling abroad.
Receiving imported plants
Try to arrange delivery for a time when you can take the plants indoors and deal with them immediately. Even well-packed plants in insulated boxes can become dangerously cold if left outside in winter, while a missed delivery may mean another period in an unheated van or warehouse.
Unpack the plants promptly and carefully remove packing from around the fronds. If several unfamiliar plants have arrived together, take particular care to keep each label with the correct plant.
Remove material wrapped around the root ball for transport. Imported tropical ferns may arrive with washed roots or rhizomes packed in dead moss rather than in a medium intended for long-term cultivation. If the moss is dry and compacted, carefully remove it.
Inspect the plant and remove faded, dead or rotting material. Plants may have received phytosanitary treatments before export, so washing the parts above the root ball with clean water can be sensible. Some species react badly to treatment or the stresses of transport and may lose their existing fronds.
Newly imported ferns often benefit from a protected, humid environment while they recover. A plastic bag, terrarium or high-humidity glasshouse can work well, using a simple medium such as sphagnum or a free-draining mix. Avoid allowing fronds to rest against wet sides where condensation may encourage rot.
Bare rhizomes can be treated as rhizome cuttings using the methods described on our propagation pages.
Once you see new growth, begin acclimatising the plant gradually to its intended growing conditions. Increase ventilation little by little and keep checking the moisture level of the growing medium as air movement increases.
Biosecurity and invasive species
Legal importation is only one part of responsible plant movement. Pests, diseases and invasive species can cause serious environmental and horticultural damage, which is why biosecurity matters whenever plants move between countries or collections.
Three invasive ferns are particularly relevant to growers because they are, or have been, commonly encountered in horticulture:
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Azolla filiculoides — water fern
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Salvinia molesta — giant salvinia or salvinia moss
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Lygodium japonicum — Japanese climbing fern
All three are subject to legal restrictions, although the precise restrictions differ between species and across different parts of the UK. In England and Wales, Salvinia molesta and Lygodium japonicum are listed invasive alien species subject to particularly strict controls, including restrictions on importing, keeping, transporting, selling, growing and allowing them to reproduce.
Rather than assuming that a plant offered within the hobby is legal to acquire or exchange, check the current regulations before obtaining, growing, selling or passing on any of these three species.
New plants should also be inspected carefully before introducing them to an established collection. Keeping recent acquisitions separate while you monitor them can reduce the risk of introducing pests or diseases to plants you already grow.
Know where your plants come from
Legal does not automatically mean responsibly sourced. As explored in Towards Ethical Collections, provenance and the way plant material has been acquired are important considerations when adding to a collection.
Some ferns are protected by CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and permits or certificates may be required to move protected material internationally. CITES material entering Great Britain must also use the appropriate procedures and designated points of entry.
Other national laws may regulate the collection and export of wild plants. If material is described as wild collected or has uncertain origins, take the time to understand where it came from and whether it was collected and exported legally.
With plants that have passed through several growers or nurseries, establishing their original provenance can be difficult. We cannot always know the complete history of every plant in cultivation, but we can ask sensible questions, retain the information that is available and make considered choices about what we buy.
Towards Ethical Collections explores these questions in greater depth and provides the EFG's framework for developing and maintaining responsible collections.
Propagate, record and share
One of the best resources available to fern growers is the community of other growers. Propagating plants already established in cultivation and sharing them can help maintain unusual species and cultivars, broaden access to interesting ferns and reduce the need to repeatedly acquire new material from elsewhere.
Share information as well as plants. A correct name, provenance where known and useful growing experience can make a plant much more valuable to its next grower.
Pteridobase provides tools for accessioning and managing a collection, helping to keep this information with the plants we grow. It also highlights CITES and other restrictions associated with particular ferns and provides tools for sharing spores and plant material with other growers.
Maintaining diverse collections is something we can do together. Good records, propagation and the thoughtful exchange of material all help keep interesting species and cultivars in cultivation for the future.