Gardening and Horticulture - Ferns and Soil

Hi:

Just moved into our first house. Unfortunately, we never had any experience with gardening. We would like to plant a few ferns in a somewhat shady area of our yard. We are guessing that something might have to be added to the existing dirt and this is where our confusion arises. The stores have numerous things...mulch, compost, potting mix, potting soil, etc., etc., etc.

From observation, water seems to penetrate the existing dirt very slowly. It was suggested to us that this might mean we have heavy clay soil.

So...if we have clay soil, can we still grow ferns (we like the tree ferns)? Should we add something to our soil? What to do??? What about fertilizer? Thanks.

You did not say where you are. Here are some informative sites about ferns.

http://www.ces.uga.edu/pubcd/B737-w.htm

http://gardenbed.com/clubs/vicferns_ferns2grow.cfm

Hope this helps.