The Shade Plant Specialists

Long Acre Plants is essentially a mail order plantsman's nursery, situated in a hidden triangle of Somerset that slides into Dorset and Wiltshire. We specialise in unusual woodland plants and plants for shade, by mail order. This includes Erythronium, Epimedium, hardy ferns, hardy geraniums, hellebores (Helleborus), snowdrops, Viola odorata and Hepatica amongst many other shade loving plants.
Plants are the reason for this business and with a very few exceptions we grow what we like, for all the usual human reasons of association, perception of what is beautiful or just inexplicable love.
We try and grow in an environmentally aware way, including peat free compost, collecting and recycling rain water and using recycled paper. Plus all electricity used in the nursery and office is generated by wind or hydro, not through burning fossil fuels. We endeavour to make our packaging as environmentally friendly as possible. The packing cases we use are made from recycled PET which can be recycled again so creating a closed loop and having the best carbon footprint.

Hardy Ferns

We offer an extensive and large range of wonderful hardy woodland or shady garden ferns, evergreen and deciduous. As a rule, ferns are best in shade, but some ferns will take almost full sun. Some are good in dry soils others in moist. Ferns fit into many different styles of garden, Japanese gardens, woodland gardens, cottage gardens, courtyards and containers, city gardens, tropical/ foliage style gardens even alpine gardens can look wonderful with a range of dwarf ferns, as well as pure ferns gardens or stumperies. Ferns fit into practically all garden situations and combine well with other plants. For example, deciduous ferns can be grown successfully in the same situation as a large Winter/Spring bulb displays, with aconites, Cyclamen, Galanthus, Narcissus and Erythronium etc.

Upcoming - Horniman Museum Autumn Plant Fair

We shall be at the Horniman Museum Autumn Plant Fair in South East London. Always busy and set in a wonderful park. We shall have a large range of ferns and Autumn perennials for shade.

Cyclamen
Cyclamen is a genus with a number of non-hardy species, but there are also some very hardy species of Cyclamen which thrive in a woodland or shady garden. Early Autumn flowering Cyclamen hederifolium will just about grow anywhere. Winter flowering Cyclamen coum is also is very tolerant of shade, even thriving under walnut trees, where growth in many other plants is greatly supressed.

Geranium
Hardy geraniums are amazingly good in shade, even dry shade. The geranium forms we offer are Summer flowering so often give colour to shady areas during the most difficult time. We find that hardy geraniums combine well with Spring bulbs; eg snowdrops through to Erythronium. Geraniums cover the gaps after the bulbs finish and give another season of colour. A few will even keep their leaves through a mildish Winter too!

New Woodland Plants

Coniogramme japonica Flavomaculata £11.00 A wonderfully mottled form of the Japanese bamboo fern. find out more

Best Selling Plants

Dryopteris erythrosora AGM

£8.50 (2 or fewer items) £8.00 (3 or more items)

Quite one of the best garden ferns with bronze new fronds all Summer. Will tolerate a fair amount of alkalinity in the soil but prefers neutral soils. Evergreen.
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Dryopteris affinis 'Cristata The King' AGM

£8.50 (2 or fewer items) £7.95 (3 or more items)

A truly magnificent fern with splendid crests and arching fronds, said to be the 'King of the British Ferns'. In time, to 1.2m tall. Very effective in a pot against a north facing wall. Semi-evergreen.
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Special Offer Cyclamen hederifolium AGM - 8 mixed leaved forms.

£40.00

{About}
A mixed batch of leaves and flower colour, 8 x 9cm pots. Super in dry shade, August - September flowering, with flowers appearing in ethereal ring like clumps and with the good looking marbled leaves remaining all Winter long. This collection offers great value for money. Please remember that Cyclamen hederifolium are Summer dormant.
{Cultivation}
Cyclamen hederifolium is very easy to grow in any well drained shaded spot and is one of the most tolerant of the driest dry shade. Looks glorious in drifts under deciduous trees. Plants at 20cm centres and at the same depth as the pots. Summer dormant.

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Epimedium x versicolor 'Sulphureum' AGM

£8.50 (2 or fewer items) £7.95 (3 or more items)

Easy pale lemon yellow flowered species, good ground cover. European type. One of the easiest and most reliable for dry shade. Deciduous.
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Polystichum braunii