About the Glasshouse
A small, unheated lean-to in Herefordshire, a shelf of notebooks and too many sowing tubs.
01Why this notebook exists
Ferntrolleytall began as a private growing log: dates of sowing, hygrometer readings, the week a Hymenophyllum collapsed and the reason why. Over time the log became a method. Most losses traced back to the same few causes — dry air, unstable temperature, compacted substrate and poorly sourced plants — and most were preventable.
The site sets that method out in order, for collectors who would rather keep one difficult plant alive for ten years than buy ten and lose them all.
02How we check what we write
Plant names follow the Pteridophyte Phylogeny Group classification (PPG I) and Plants of the World Online, maintained by Kew. Legal statements are checked against CITES appendices and UK government guidance. Cultivation figures are ranges from our own records cross-checked with published references such as Hoshizaki & Moran's Fern Grower's Manual. Where growers disagree, we say so.
We correct errors promptly. If you find one, please write to us with the page and the source.
03Independence
We sell no plants, take no affiliate commission and accept no sponsored content. Nurseries, gardens and societies are mentioned because they are useful, not because they paid. This site is published by Ferntrolleytall Garden Ltd.