3 OTHER WAYS TO GET FERNS FOR FREE

1 Sow ripe spores

Collect fertile fronds with mature sporangia ('seed vessels') that look like little brown capsules on the undersides. Place these in a paper bag until the sporangia have dried and burst to release the spores, then sprinkle the spores over a tray of sterile growing media such as coarse sand or peat moss and perlite.

You can also peg sections of frond with plump sporangia over a tray of growing medium and let them sow themselves when they are good and ready. Always cover the trays with a plastic bag to keep the mix moist.

2 Divide

Some ferns, such as the rabbit foot fern and the blue star fern (Phlebodium aureum), produce fleshy rhizomes at their base that can be divided like perennials. Prise them apart and repot.

3 Grow the babies

The hen and chicken fern is so-named because it produces baby bulbils on mature fronds. These can be picked off and potted up, although Terry Hatch recommends leaving them on the frond. Instead, cut the frond off the plant, then peg it down in a tray of soil for more consistent rooting.