i think so- why don't you ck on dave's garden site. Someone will have reported a range there. I know the native one is from up in new england (and is very hard to grow and endangered). The japanese one is dead easy to grow, and spreads itself around.

The japanese one is consider very invasive, by the way. You should be ok with the native one.

I got a piece of it once in some pine straw and it took root and started to grow until I realized what it was.

Here is a link that might be useful: Invasive

I agree with Esh re the Japanese one. I have a friend who started it, and it has gone everywhere!

I am growing the native one, but I have to tell you that it is so slow...still little after several years. Every summer it has grown, only to die back in the winter, then re-emerges. It is probably suffering from lack of moisture as we have been so droughty for several years. But it DOES grow near you.

where'd you find the native one, ncrescue?

i've had the japanese for several years now and while it has popped up in a few places, it hasn't gone nuts. Seems to need a lot of moisture to successfully germinate/go through the ferns stages and very little of my yard is really moist. I certainly wouldn't plant it near wetlands.

I don't know about that tamelask - my volunteer japanese one came in with pine straw and sprouted in the middle of a path. I don't think it got much moisture but managed to chug it's way to adulthood!

My native one is still in a pot - about 4 years after being rescued in piney area. I'm afraid to plant it out for fear that I'll lose it!

I got my native climbing fern from Tom Goforth, who propates native ferns down in SC near Clemson. He has not had climbing fern recently, but you never know when he may get some to 'selling' size.

He will actually take you out in the woods to look at ferns if you call ahead and set up a time. All of his are grown through spore propagation, not dug from the wild. He sells large ferns but also can sell plugs for people to grow out and re-sell. He does workshops very well but his talks are some times over my head.

He is a great person, knowledge based in geology, which is, of course, the source of soils and thus plants, and also is very artistic and creative. An interesting character.

Here is a link that might be useful: Crow Dog Ferns

thanks, esh and ncrescue for the info! I appreciate it!