Mysterious ferns are native

On occasion, people have shown me an odd plant specimen that was later identified as a whisk fern.  This unusual native fern is also called the skeleton fork fern noting its boney, leafless stems. Often found in the nooks and crannies of garden beds, the whisk fern may be overlooked in your own landscape, or mistaken for a random weed. What is the whisk fern and what does it look like?

At a glance, the whisk fern looks almost like a type of seaweed, lime-green to yellowish-green in color, with small yellow, spore-producing structures on the end of starkly naked stems. The whisk fern has no roots and no leaves and is about one-foot tall in size. The green, Y-shaped stems contain chlorophyll and do photosynthesize. Instead of roots, the whisk fern has rhizomes which hold onto the soil or whatever substrate is available. Although leafless, you will see tiny leaf-like projections along the stem called enations. Just above these projections, the green to yellow round spore-bearing structures can be found. The spores are released and eventually develop into independent plants.

 

Native in the southern United States and the Caribbean, the whisk ferns are found in natural areas as well as in landscapes. They tend to like bright, indirect light as might be found in the dappled shade at the base of shrubs. I have commonly seen them in parking lot planting beds tucked in, and almost out of sight, amongst various shrubs. Although they appear weedy, there is no need to remove them if they are in close proximity to landscape plants. You may also find whisk ferns on trees or palms where they thrive as harmless epiphytic plants. 

Whisk ferns do like moisture, so if they pop up in your landscape, you may be over-watering your other plants. 

Interestingly enough, the Japanese have cultivated the whisk fern for some time and now have established over one-hundred ornamental cultivars. If you like the whisk fern, you can propagate your own by simply dividing clumps, or attempt the more difficult effort of germinating the spores.  It can take up to a year to germinate these spores!

Consider whisk ferns a botanical oddity that may turn up in your landscape. Don’t treat them like a weed, but instead pause and ponder the wonder of a leafless, rootless plant! For more information on all types of natural and ornamental plant oddities, please call our Master Gardener volunteers on the Plant Lifeline on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer. Don't forget to visit our other County Plant Clinics in the area. Please check this link for a complete list of site locations, dates and times - http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/Plant%20Clinics%20Schedule.pdf.

Resources:

Lemke, C. (2012) Plant-of-the –Week – Psilotum nudum – Whisk Fern University of Oklahoma Department of Microbiology & Plant Biology.  University of Oklahoma. 

Introduction to the Psilotales – the Whisk Ferns (2016). University of California, Berkley.

Bailey, C. C. (2016) Whisk ferns are harmless, leafless plants.  Tcpam.com.

Snyder, S. L. (2016) Psilophytes (Whisk Fern) in the Christopher B. Smith Preserve.  Conservancy of Southwest Florida – Gopher Tortoise Preserve. 

Garner, L. (2008) Unusual and Bizarre Plants – The Whisk Ferns.  Dave’s Garden .com

The butterfly pea - not a butterfly attractor, but it is truly blue!

If you appreciate the color of a deep blue flower, look no further than that of the butterfly pea. This easy-to-grow vine can make a great trellis or post covering with the deepest blue flowers you may have ever seen. 

A native to Asia, the butterfly pea now grows across the world as a popular ornamental vine with the ability, like other legumes, to fix nitrogen in the soil with the help of certain bacteria. With delicate pea-like flowers of deep blue with a yellow throat, (there is also a white cultivar), the butterfly pea even comes in varieties featuring both single and double-flowers. Considered a short-lived perennial which can freeze back in the winter, the abundant seeds produced will often sprout and reseed.  Fine for sun or part-shade, this twining vine will seek out and wrap itself around a variety of supports. Also consider growing this flowering pea in hanging baskets where the vines will cascade over the side providing a fine plant for the summer. 

Although it may freeze-back in the winter and/or just simply conk out, the butterfly pea is easy to grow from seed or even from cuttings. A butterfly pea can go from seed to flower in as little as six weeks. Soaking the seeds in water for a few hours prior to planting will help germination. I have one growing up an established bougainvillea trained up a small trellis. The butterfly pea provides color now while the bougainvillea has just green leaves.

Unless a friend provides a few seeds for you to start, the butterfly pea is readily available in seed catalogs or, easily found via an Internet search. I especially like the double-flowering varieties which have extravagant petals and supersized flowers. While the butterfly pea does not really attract butterflies, (it just looks like a butterfly to some), I have found it a welcome source of unique color on a manageable vine. For more information on all types of vining plants suitable for our area, please call our Master Gardener volunteers on the Plant Lifeline on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer. Don't forget to visit our other County Plant Clinics in the area. Please check this link for a complete list of site locations, dates and times - http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/Plant%20Clinics%20Schedule.pdf.

Resources:

Lemke, C. (2012) Cal's Plant of the Week Clitoria ternatea - Butterfly Pea.  University of Oklahoma Department of Microbiology & Plant Biology.

Park Brown S. & Knox, G. W. (2016) Flowering Vines for Florida.  The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS.

Clitoria ternatea (2016) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clitoria_ternatea. 

Is something old new again?

There are still a few sago palms around Charlotte County landscapes. The sago was once a low-maintenance plant. They used to be more common before the insect plague known as the Asian Cycad scale came to town. This insect pest covered sago palms with white scales and wiped out most of this standard landscape planting material. A few remedies were developed, but many people just gave up planting them.  The Asian cycad scale is still around to lesser degree as its food source was all but depleted. The few surviving sago palms were either isolated or their owners kept up on the effort to keep them pest-free. Sago palms are still for sale in the garden centers where they are clean and ready to go. Should you venture in to plant a sago in your yard? Is it safe to back to the sago palm?

The sago palm is not a palm at all, but more closely related to conifers with leaves that look just like palm fronds. Originally from southern Japan, they do well in our climate in full sun or partial shade. A bit slow-growing, sago palms can get up to fifteen feet tall in a half-century or so. The dark-green, leathery leaves are up to five-feet long and radiate around the top of the brown trunk. Each leaflet has a sharp tip, so watch out where you place these plants. New fronds unfurl each spring and refresh the sago with a light green color.  Individual plants are either male or female. The male develops an eighteen-inch tall yellow cone, while the female reproductive part is round and nest-like, eventually becoming filled with two-inch wide orange seeds.  It is important to note that all sago parts including the seeds, are highly toxic. 

Sago palms are easy to grow and very hardy taking temperatures down into the twenties. Plant as a single specimen or in groups planted at least four to six feet apart. Mix sago palms with ornamental grasses or other groundcovers for a nice effect. Sago palms will often suffer from a manganese deficiency called “frizzle top” just like real palms. We recommend feeding sago palms a granular 8-2-12-4 in November, February and May, and a 0-0-16-6 in August which will provide the nutrients needed to prevent all deficiencies. 

Keep an eye out for the Asian cycad scale. If sago palms come from the nursery pest-free and are generally isolated from other specimens, you should be in good shape. However, young scale insects called crawlers, are minute and can be accidently introduced. The use of horticultural oil, as per label directions and not in the heat of the day as the leaves can be burned, can help suppress an infestation. The Asian cycad scale is noted for infesting roots which may hide this insect pest and allow for re-infestation. 

The sago palm is a beautiful and unique plant that has taken a beating in the past. Is it time to revisit this plant and make it a part of your landscape? Perhaps, but keep a cautious eye out while you nurture this palm-like plant in your yard. For more information on all types of plants suitable for your yard, please call our Master Gardener volunteers on the Plant Lifeline on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer. Don't forget to visit our other County Plant Clinics in the area.  Please check this link for a complete list of site locations, dates and times - http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/Plant%20Clinics%20Schedule.pdf.

Resources:

Weissling, T. J., Howard, F. W. & Hamon, A. B. (2013) Cycad Aulacaspis Scale, Aulacaspis yasumatsui Takagi.  The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS. 

King Sago Palm, Cycas revoluta. (2007) The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS – Baker County.

Williams, L. (2005) Growing Sago Palms.  The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS. 

Northrop, R. J., Andreu, M. G., Friedman, M. H., McKenzie, M. & Quintana, H. V. (2016) Cycas revoluta, Sago Palm. The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS. 

Christman, S. (2009) Cycas revoluta. Floridata.com, Tallahassee, FL.