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.
The Shade Plant Specialists

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.
Hardy Ferns

Upcoming - Rare Plant Fair, March 17th.

We will have a range of snowdrops and other early woodland plants including evergreen ferns available on the day. We are happy to take orders for collection to the sale.

We always take a wide range of hardy and unusual ferns and woodland perennials suitable for semi or full shade. Both moist and dry situations.

Click on the image to the right for the full list of sales.
Upcoming -  Rare Plant Fair, March 17th.
Rare Plant Fairs

Rare Plant Fairs

We shall be at all but two of the Rare Plant Fairs in 2024. The details of our unusual plants fair schedule can be found the shows tab at the top of the page, or click on the image to the left..

We are happy to bring orders to sales for collection saving you the shipping charge.

All of the fairs are within lovely gardens and they usually have good catering facilities. So all round a good day out.
Cyclamen

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

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

Roscoea purpurea Snow Goose

Roscoea purpurea Snow Goose

£11.00

A stocky White flowered Roscoea true purpurea flowering over a long period.
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Impatiens quingchengshanica 'Emei Dawn'

Impatiens quingchengshanica 'Emei Dawn'

£7.00

A form with pale pink flowers in late Summer and Autumn. The stems are quite tough and stout with dark green ...
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Begonia 'Torsa'

Begonia 'Torsa'

£9.00

A new hardy form whcih grows very large, pink flower in late Summer till frosts. The leaves can grow 40cm across
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Begonia grandis 'Snowpop'

Begonia grandis 'Snowpop'

£7.00

Begonia grandis subsp. sinensis is a more compact selection than the typical subsp evansiana,. Smaller foliage and earlier flowering makes for ...
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Saxifraga stolonifera 'Nezu Jinga'

Saxifraga stolonifera 'Nezu Jinga'

£6.50

A Japanese form with very large silvered green leaves with a network of silver veins to the extra large leaves to ...
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Roscoea cangshanensis

Roscoea cangshanensis

£7.50

An easy and quiet vigorous species from China. Summer flowering from July right through till the frosts with us.
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Blechnum novae-zealandiae

£11.00

A New Zealand fern with long lanceolate fronds flushed red initially turning green through yellow. Very attractive. Probably best in a ...
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Polypodium x mantoniae 'Bifido-Grandiceps'

£9.00

Tall growing Polypodium very tollerant with a broad terminal crest to the fronds. Tolerant of dry shade, probably not best in ...
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Polypodium glycyrrhiza 'Lawrence Crocker

£9.00

North West America. Dark green fronds with broad terminal crests and all the other pinnae on the fronds are neatly crested ...
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Polypodium glycyrrhiza x scouleri

Polypodium glycyrrhiza x scouleri

£9.00

A large growing shiny dark leaved Polypodium. The most tropical looking and tough looking Polypodium. Evergreen, a good hybrid for ...
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Begonia 'Wild Swan' BSWJ 7772

Begonia 'Wild Swan' BSWJ 7772

£8.00

A short tuberous deciduous species/variety from Japan. With rounded hairy mat green leaves and separate stalks with masses of white flowers. ...
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Zingiber mioga 'Crug Zing' BSWJ 4379

£8.00

A very hardy ginger from Chjudo which is between Japan and Korea. Yellow and pink/apricot flowers in Autumn at ground level.. ...
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Begonia grandis Bells and Whistles

Begonia grandis Bells and Whistles

£7.00

A fully hardy for with silver mottling to the dark green leaves. Dark red lower leaf surface. A distinct new form. ...
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Begonia palmata DJHM 13008

Begonia palmata DJHM 13008

£8.00

A lovely bordeline hardy Begonia collected by Dan Hinkley in Myanmar. With large well marked Mottled bronze palmate leaves and pink ...
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Drynaria sinica

£9.00

A lovely hardy fern. Red flushed new frionds emerge in Spring and gradually turn to greysih green. Deciduous but but leaving ...
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Best Selling Plants

Asplenium trichomanes AGM

Asplenium trichomanes AGM

£6.95 (2 or fewer items) £6.50 (3 or more items)

The native maidenhair spleenwort, common around here in walls, but good at the front of a shady border, trough or rock garden. Evergreen. A little beauty.
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Polystichum polyblepharum AGM

Polystichum polyblepharum AGM

£7.00 (2 or fewer items) £6.50 (3 or more items)

From Korea and Japan, glossy fine cut fronds to 60cm across. Evergreen. One of the finest of the good hardy evergreen ferns. Polyblepharum means 'many eyelashes'. A fine, reliable fern.
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Geranium x cantabrigiense 'St Ola'

Geranium x cantabrigiense 'St Ola'

£5.95 (2 or fewer items) £4.80 (3 or more items)

One of the very few evergreen Geraniums for the woodland garden. Short growing it forms a ground cover with pure white flowers over most of the Summer. A hybrid raised by Alan Bremner in the Orkneys.

Once established it's very tolerant of soils that dry out in Summer in shade.
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Geranium macrorrhizum 'Mount Olympus White' AGM

Geranium macrorrhizum 'Mount Olympus White' AGM

£6.45 (2 or fewer items) £5.95 (3 or more items)

syn Geranium mac. 'White Ness'. An easy, hardy, evergreen Geranium. Very good in dry shade. Forms good ground cover with fragrant foliage. Pure white flowers over most of the Summer starting in late May. This is a pure albino with no hint of pink in the calyx or flower.

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Matteuccia struthiopteris AGM

Matteuccia struthiopteris AGM

£7.00 (2 or fewer items) £6.50 (3 or more items)

The shuttlecock fern, vigorous and striking. Needs some moisture to reach full size. Deciduous.
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Polystichum aculeatum AGM

Polystichum aculeatum AGM

£7.00 (2 or fewer items) £6.50 (3 or more items)

Native hard shield fern with glossy stiff leathery fronds. Tolerant of most soils and happy with some chalk in the soil. Evergreen.
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