My porch is begging for some greenery. Don't care about the quality of the baskets as I have self-watering baskets to transfer them to. Also, the ferns don't have to be huge. (I sometimes split the big ferns in half so that the root ball will not be massive by summer) Lowe's has them for $7.00, but not in stock right now. Any better deals.
Lowes in Smithfield has them. Also, Lakeside Greenhouse at Johnston Community College will have them around the 1st of April. Have a question, you have self watering baskets, can you tell us more about that and where you got them from. I usually use Kimberly Ferns instead Boston--Kimberlies can stand the hot sun and heat.
Here is a link. I think you can get them cheaper from Amazon, but not sure where that link is. http://www.gardeners.com/Self-Water...ferralID=42f8cfe1-74f0-11e1-a6d5-001b2166c62d They are fabulous for keeping your ferns alive. I have been using them for the past 4 years, and I would never go back. Several of friends/family have bought them and agree. I water them with a hose from the top until the water starts coming out of the spout and then don't have to water them until a few days later. Probably could do the same thing with a gallon jug. The ferns just thrive in these baskets. What I think makes the big difference is that with regular baskets, the water goes right through and the ferns do not have enough time to drink up the water. With these baskets, its like sitting the ferns in a pool of water for an hour or two (which my dad, who is a horticulturalist always advise me to do, but I was too lazy to pull them down and dump them in a 5 gallon bucket every week). These baskets allows the ferns to pull much more water up into the plant, which means that even if the reservoir is dry for a few days, the ferns have had a nice long drink on the days before to help them survive. Now my question for you, where do you get the Kimberly Ferns? Do they cost a lot more?
At most stores they are about the same price. You also can get small ones in small pots and replant them in the hanging baskets and they will grow. That is what I did last year, I paid about $5 for a 4-6 inch pot and replanted into hanging basket and they grew. I will never use anything else, but Kimberlies. They hold up so much better. Well worth the time to buy.
They are more sword, but still beautiful to have. I kept 3 from last year and still beautiful now. When they get grown and full, they will flow over You will not go wrong especially if your ferns burned from the hot sun in the past.
Do they hang like the boston ferns, or are they more of a sword fern? kimberly is a sword fern. When grown they do hang down, but not as much. Most everybody grows them now. We quit growing boston ferns cause the swords did so much better. (less cleaning), grew about 10,000 a year. Fertilizer is fine, but if you can stand the smell, try fish emulsion. Don't mix up too much and let it set around!!!
