royal fern

Plants from this group grow equally good in different positions, regardless of solar radiation. Usually they need more moisture in sunny than in shady undergorwth and they can bloom more exuberant.

Herbaceous plants are not woody. Their stems are soft, usually remaining green. With some herabceous older stems may harden and look like woody stems (e. g. bamboo).

This group includes plants that cannot tolerate limestone (chalk) and need acidic soils to grow normally, this is soil, of which pH must lower tahn 6. According to pH value (acidity and alkalinity), soil can be either acidic, neutral or alkaline, with intermediate levels. Fertile, quality garden soils of most gardens and parks are  slightly acidic to neutral (pH 6-7) and suit most of plants. If soil contains a lot of calcium (limy soils), it is alkaline soil. Acidic soils contain much less calcium, they can be richer in humus. Some acidic soils are washed out and poor in plant nutrients. Plants like, for example most of the rhododendrons, heather, camelias and bluberries, grow normally only in distinctively acidic soils, so such soil must be attained when planting. Most of other plants do grow well in slightly acidic soils, but grow as well also in neutral soils with a bit higher calcium content.

The plant develops new leaves or needles every spring, which dropp off in autumn. Herbaceous plants can die completely in above ground section and grow back in the spring.

Plant can in otherwise appropriate environment survive cold down to - 23 °C.

Porous or dry soils are normally light and loose, there is no stagnant water but relatively quickly flows in deeper layers; such ground are more airy and warmer, yet drier and usually contain less humus and for such undergrowth it is often to for drought to appear (e. g. rockgardens, walls, by paths and roads, on gravel, also on gravel surface in towns and close to buildings ...), plants of such undergrowth need well-drained soil, they tolerate drought but cannot tolerate constant moisture or even flooding.

Herbaceous, not woody plant. Stems and leaves may be evergreen or deciduous - thus regrowing every spring. Perennials may blossom consecutively for several years. Some perennials develop special underground organs - bulbs, corms or rootstocks and these species are treated separetelly, not with geophyte and tuberous plants.

Leaves or needles of many deciduos plants change colour in autumn before falling mostly to yellow, orange and red shades. Distinctive autumn red or similar colouration may also appear in some evergreen plants, which leaves/needels do not fall off in autumn. Autumn coloration depends on general condition of a plant, maintanance, weather and site. Usually leaves colour more intensely if dry autumn and if differences between day and night temperatures are greater, as well as on dry, sandy soils with less nitrogen. Among grown ornamental plants there are numerous varieties with especially intense or diverse autumn colour than by the basic species.