quite hard soil like woody(so with wood chips) or poorer quality. ferns love shady spots so should be placed mabye under other trees.

Hi, welcome to GoY, to be honest. I've never hear of a phoenix fern, are you sure you don't mean a Phoenix palm tree, the most commonly sold being Phoenix canariensis, or canary island palm, {there are 17 species in the genus}, if so, then they are frost tender, and should be grown under glass, but can be stood outside for a few weeks in summer, grow them in John Innes number 2 compost,but a some grit for drainage.
Some people try to grow them outside in warmer parts of the uk, but they need a lot of winter protection, Derek.

See: houseplants-care.blogspot.com/.../phoenix-palm-plant-care.html

Confirms all Derk says.