Both the staghorn and the elkhorn ferns love growing under trees, with shade between 11:00 AM and 4:00 PM (spring/summer). They can tolerate much more sun during the fall/winter months. That's also true about the majority of bromeliads, tillandsia, and of course, orchids.

Hi Valery, to All Things Plants!

I've been in Fla for almost 48 years and I don't know a lot about ferns but I've never heard of any that will grow in direct sun and don't recall any in situations of direct sun. You are in southern part of the state so the sun is even more intense down your way. I don't have much shade at all on my property so if anyone knows of ferns that will survive in our sunny situations I hope they will chime in with some suggestions because I would love to be able to grow them in the sun!

Maybe I will ask over on the Florida Gardening Forum http://garden.org/forums/view/... to see if any members in our state are familiar with a type of fern that might survive direct sun.

Valery, I posted on the Florida Gardening Forum and one member suggested Giant Leather Fern (Acrostichum danaeifolium) for full sun locations.

Our database shows Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) for partial to full shade but the Floridata website: http://www.floridata.com/ref/o... states that with plenty of water it will do well in full sun situations.

When googling I found information for Royal Fern (Osmunda regalis) that also says if kept wet it will survive full for up to 6 hours daily and the Floridata site: http://www.floridata.com/ref/o... says with plenty of water it can survive full sun more than the the Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea).

with Lin, but I'd qualify it by saying all of those will do much better with shade or at least afternoon shade.

Valery, be sure to look at your yard with an eye to where the shade will be in the summer as well as now, which is almost winter. The sun is almost directly overhead in June/July here, so some places that are sunny now might be in the shade in summer. An example would be areas under an overhang on the south side of your house, or areas under large oak trees. The sun angles in under the branches at this time of year, but there is lovely, shifting shade under there in the hot months. Oak trees also humidify and cool their own surroundings a lot, and they acidify the soil under their branches by dropping all their leaves in the early spring, both of which ferns really like.

A large section of my back yard right outside my window here is in nearly full sun now, and through the winter, but the big clump of bamboo on the north side of it leans over enough to shade the whole area in summer.

The Giant Leather Fern is a huge fern and grows best in bog conditions.

I agree with drdawg on the Leather Fern. It really really needs it water. YOu'll find it growing on the edges of streams and bogs and ponds etc. and they do get very large. You could also try tree ferns by acclimating them slowly into the sun, but again, the amount of water is the key. The North and East side of your home is the most likely places to find shade since the morning sun would be on the east side from sunup to about 1pm then the shade from any over hang or house should be present and the north side of a house only gets sun in the morning and then the evening in the summer.

Good growing everyone

Valery, I forgot to welcome you.

Do you have any shade trees at all?

Some Australian soft tree ferns!
Regards from an avid fern lover.
Neil.

Very nice Neil ... I especially love that first one!

Some of mine!
Regards from England.
Neil.
p.s there is an Article on here I did on soft Australian tree ferns. http://garden.org/ideas/view/N...

Wow ... just Beautiful and what a great article and photos!

Some from the Chelsea Flower Show!
Kindest regards.
Neil.

The beginning of new life as the croziers (new fronds), emerge from one of my soft Australian tree ferns.
Regards.
Neil.

Lovely photo! Wish I could grow those here.

Woofie if he can in London why couldn't you ?

I can't think of a good place off hand for something that size that wants shade. But I'm looking around!

Dear woofie, I think it may be a bit cold for them where you are! They and I have seen it done grown in sun! In Victorian times as these ferns have no underground roots: they were simply placed in a large pot and put in the flower beds. They buried the pot, not the top half, as a "dot plant" amongst the carpet bedding they loved to do. Carpet bedding is still prevalent in parks and most towns.
Then when the winter bedding was due to go in, the tree ferns, cordylines and palms etc. were taken out and put into cold greenhouses for the winter. Although evergreen they will drop there fronds if it is too cold. Most of the time they will regenerate new ones in the spring.
Please if you love these as I do; never buy them from the wild. The loggers in Australia cut down forests and these are left. They simply take them and then sell them for a vast sum.
On the internet you can buy the spores and get full instructions on how to grow them.

One of mine in the snow.
Regards from a most wet and cold England.
Neil.

Hmmm, interesting idea, Neil. Just how much cold can they take? I do have a small greenhouse where they could be protected from the extremes we sometimes get.

Neil: Very nice, I love that photo of the new fronds emerging! Wow, it looks like it is indeed cold and snowy where you live!

Woofie: Soft Tree Fern (Dicksonia antarctica) is the one Neil grows.

The Australian Tree Fern (Sphaeropteris cooperi) is the one that I see for sale here every once in awhile but it seems they both like the same conditions.

Thanks for the link, Lin! I find it interesting that our database shows it only viable to 20F, but Neil's article mentions plants surviving -26F! Is that just a typo, or will they tolerate brief extreme cold? I think our local climate has warmed a bit, as we haven't seen many days with negative temperatures in the last few years. Heh, USDA is trying to convince us that we're now zone 6a.