Recommended Native Ferns by Region
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Web Special for “Native Ferns” by C. Colston Burrell in the May/June 2016 issue of The American Gardener, one flush of new leaves each season and, with thin, elegant evergreen fronds six the magazine of the American Horticultural Society. to maintain the fern’s vitality, resist the to seven inches long. Found throughout urge to cut off older tattered fronds until the world in the Northern Hemisphere, they have turned completely brown. the northwestern forms are easy to grow and are perfectly at home tucked Northern lady fern into the gaps of our granite and basalt Recommended Native Ferns (Athyrium filix-femina var. angustum) rockeries. Lady fern’s soft, doubly divided fronds by Region and neat, clumping habit make it the Deer fern (Blechnum spicant) quintessential woodland garden fern Another fern found throughout the to blend with wildflowers and ground- Northern Hemisphere, deer fern attains TOP FERNS FOR THE name. It will grow on rocks also, especially covers in light shade. If the soil remains perfection in the Pacific Northwest. with the help of a few dabs of glue. moist, it will continue to send forth new Low, well-mannered mounds of clean, DEEP SOUTH fronds all season, maintaining its fresh, simply divided fronds are topped with John Manion is curator of the Kaul Wild- Southern shield fern spring-green appearance even as many of upright skeletal fertile fronds that are flower Garden at Birmingham Botanical (Thelypteris kunthii) its companions begin to wither and fade. great for cut floral arrangements. This Garden in Alabama. Here are of a few of This species is a real “work horse” in the fern enjoys a constant supply of mois- his favorites, chosen for displaying a variety garden. It will grow and spread in nearly Interrupted fern ture, but tolerates far less in our gardens. of forms and their suitability to the heat every location—sun, shade, wet, dry, on (Osmunda claytoniana) and humidity of the Deep South. slopes…you get the idea. This fern func- This large, regal fern is restricted primar- Leatherleaf polypody Northern maidenhair tions well as a groundcover. ily to the northeastern U.S. It emerges (Polypodium scouleri) courtesy of John Ruter, Bugwood.org Walking fern (Asplenium rhizophyllum) with remarkable flourish and elegance in This lovely evergreen fern is almost al- How wonderful it is to see this fern early spring, erecting stout, silver-furred ways found within sight or sound of the reproducing via proliferous frond tips, TOP FERNS FOR THE fronds “interrupted” by segments of Pacific Ocean, but has adapted well to where tiny plantlets form at the terminal black-green pinnae made so by their gardens elsewhere in the Northwest. The end of each frond, which take root to NORTHEAST burden of millions of spores. It matures thick, heavily-textured fronds can reach form new plants. The deep green fronds Bill Cullina is executive director of the into a stately clump three feet high and 12 inches in length in the garden, but are are long and narrow and this species Coastal Maine Botanical Garden in wide and prefers fertile, moist to wet soil generally smaller and more compact in likes lime. It’s often seen growing among Boothbay and author of Native Ferns, in light shade to partial sun. the wild. moss on rock surfaces. Moss & Grasses (Houghton Mifflin, 2008). Among the many native ferns that Hayscented fern Western sword fern Lowland bladder fern thrive in the Northeast, here are five that (Dennstaedtia punctilobula) (Polystichum munitum) (Cystopteris protrusa) he thinks no garden should be without. Hayscented fern is an incredibly tough This is the trademark fern of the Pacific This diminutive fern provides a charm- and adaptable species that will grow in Northwest. Western sword fern is a ing accompaniment to other spring Northern maidenhair rocky, dry, acidic soils with a lushness stately and resilient fern that matures to ephemerals, as it emerges early in the (Adiantum pedatum) and vigor that defies all logic. With this a graceful, architectural specimen three season and has a delicate texture. In the Northern maidenhair fern has a sophisti- said, be warned that hayscented fern is to four feet tall and slightly wider. Often South, it will sometimes go dormant cated delicacy that belies its toughness and not a fern that plays well with others. thought of as too common by gardeners in the hottest part of summer, then re- adaptability. The many-fingered arrange- At Coastal Maine Botanical Garden, we who are too accustomed to its merits, emerge when the weather cools. ment of the fronds is elegant and very dis- use it extensively where we need an ag- but if you do not live in the region you tinctive. Given reasonably moist and fertile gressive, deciduous filler under trees and lust for its beauty. Marginal wood fern soil, it grows equally well in partial sun or shrubs in sun or shade. (Dryopteris marginalis) full shade. Because northern maidenhair Giant chain fern This understated fern, native to most of takes a season to become established, pur- (Woodwardia fimbriata) Resurrection fern the eastern U.S. is one of the easiest to chase large, well-rooted plants. TOP FERNS FOR THE The giant chain fern is our largest and courtesy of Chris Evans, Bugwood.org identify, as the sori (pockets of spores) are most spectacular fern. In the wild, situated on the pinnae’s (leaflets) margins Christmas fern PACIFIC NORTHWEST fronds can grow as long as 10 feet, but = marginalis. A very drought-tolerant (Polystichum acrosticoides) Richie Steffen is curator of the Elisabeth generally reach a restrained four to six fern, it is often found in the wild growing Like northern maidenhair, this is a C. Miller Botanical Garden in Seattle, feet in the garden. Give it the best soil, on rock walls and slopes. strongly clumping species that grows Washington, and coauthor with Sue Olsen rich in organic matter, and plenty of Western sword fern equally well in partial sun as it does in of The Plant Lover’s Guide to Ferns water. The secret to the biggest fronds is courtesy of Chris Evans, Bugwood.org Resurrection fern deep shade. In bright light, the narrow, (Timber Press, 2015). Here are his recom- to not cut back the old evergreen fronds (Pleopeltis polypodioides) 12- to 16-inch fronds are carried nearly mendations for the Pacific Northwest. until the new growth emerges and the This is the fern that lends a “southern vertically, while in deep shade they old fronds begin to fade. look” to our live oaks and many other splay out horizontally. Christmas fern is Maidenhair spleenwort trees, as it drapes the trees’ lower branches. moderately drought tolerant ant thrives (Asplenium trichomanes) People love the story behind its common in a wide variety of soils. Expect only This is a splendid, tough and tiny fern —C. Colston Burrell.