- 1). Dig ferns in fall or early spring before they show new growth. Water the ferns well the night before you dig them. The water will help them survive if you want to transplant them.
- 2). Put on a long-sleeved shirt, long pants and gloves. Because some ferns can irritate skin, wear protective clothing when working in large areas of ferns. Cut back ferns by one-half of their height if you will transplanting them. Cutting them helps to prevent transplant shock.
- 3). Dig about 8 to 12 inches from the edge of the fern foliage. Dig deeply into the soil all the way around the ferns before lifting them out of the ground. For larger ferns, dig a trench around the ferns to determine the depth of their root ball. Some large ferns have deep roots.
- 4). Push the shovel down and under a fern's root ball in several places and push down on the handle to lift the roots from the ground. When the fern's root ball is loosened all the way around, grab the fern and pull it out of the hole. Place all the ferns you remove on a tarp, if desired, to collect them for transplanting or for their disposal in yard trash.
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