{"id":4044,"date":"2023-02-25T11:13:21","date_gmt":"2023-02-25T11:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/?p=4044"},"modified":"2023-03-02T18:48:41","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T18:48:41","slug":"succeeding-hardy-ferns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/succeeding-hardy-ferns\/","title":{"rendered":"Succeeding with Hardy Ferns"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"827219ce0a87fa193c09e84c4c9a0f12\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:20px 0 20px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- MOINSBD Link Top -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-4387862990858706\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"6762903103\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"link\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_4046\" style=\"width: 658px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4046\" class=\" wp-image-4046\" src=\"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Thelypteris-decursive-pinna.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"648\" height=\"487\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Thelypteris-decursive-pinna.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Thelypteris-decursive-pinna-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-4046\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thelypteris decursive-pinnata<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>1. SOME FERN FACTS<\/strong><br \/>\nFerns are valuable garden plants of great dependability and beauty. Their leaves, known as fronds, can be lacy or leathery, plain green or variegated, providing a long season of interest.\u00a0 Rarely suffering from pests and diseases, they offer trouble-free elegance.<\/p>\n<p>Ferns were tremendously popular in Victorian times, and many of the British well-to-do had ferneries &#8212; shady garden areas devoted to vast fern collections.\u00a0 As modern gardeners become more aware of the value of foliage texture in their landscapes, they are rediscovering the refreshing diversity of hardy ferns.\u00a0 Naturally inhabiting woodland areas, ferns thrive in the shade offered by trees during the heat of summer.\u00a0 They perform best in a moist, well drained soil, high in organic matter.\u00a0 Providing appropriate soil conditions for ferns will reward you with healthy, vigorous plants.<\/p>\n<p>There are numerous kinds of hardy ferns available in garden centers.\u00a0 Many fern species are deciduous, dying back to the ground for winter. Others are evergreen, providing attractive winter foliage in the garden, or brought indoors for cut-flower arrangements.<\/p>\n<p>In Zones 2 through 6 the evergreen types often become more semi-evergreen in habit.\u00a0 Ferns vary in texture and height as well; some forming a low spreading mound, while others create a bold upright clump.\u00a0 With such a range, even the smallest garden can have a woodland feeling by planting a few ferns along with other moist-shade lovers such as Hostas, Primroses and Astilbes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Tips on planting and care<\/strong><br \/>\nFern care is relatively easy.\u00a0 Ferns require moist, humus rich soil.\u00a0 If your soil is poor, dig in 4 to 6 inches of well-rotted compost or peat moss.\u00a0 This will provide a loose, water-retentive soil in which ferns can thrive.\u00a0 Ferns do well under trees, but tree roots (especially maples and many evergreens) may rob the soil of water and nutrients.\u00a0 Also, rain may not penetrate the branch canopy.\u00a0 You may have to provide regular watering to these areas if you want to grow ferns there.\u00a0 This is especially critical just after planting until the ferns becomes established.\u00a0 It is a good idea to mulch around your ferns with compost or leaf litter once a year.\u00a0 This will improve the soil, keep the roots cool and help to retain moisture.\u00a0 Where winters are very cold, cover ferns with boughs or mulch in the fall to protect them.\u00a0 Evergreen ferns may look somewhat tattered by late winter; if so, trim off any unsightly foliage in early spring.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Some Hardy Ferns to look for:<\/strong><br \/>\nThis is just a small sampling of the hardy ferns now available.\u00a0 Our online <strong>Perennial Search<\/strong> will help you to locate many more.\u00a0 Simply type the word <em>fern<\/em>into the box and click &#8220;search&#8221;.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.perennials.com\/plants\/adiantum-pedatum.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Northern Maidenhair Fern<\/a> (<em>Adiantum pedatum<\/em>).<br \/>\nNative through the northern states and Canada, this forms a medium-sized mound of very delicate, lacy foliage. The leaf-stems are a striking black color.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.perennials.com\/plants\/asplenium-ebenoides.html\">Dragon&#8217;s-tail Fern<\/a> (<em>Asplenium ebenoides<\/em>).<br \/>\nThe triangular fronds are tapered and toothed, giving the appearance of the dragon&#8217;s tail. These ferns form a low mound of shiny fronds, reaching 1 foot (30cm) tall. Evergreen.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.perennials.com\/plants\/athyrium-niponicum-var-pictum.html\">Japanese Painted Fern<\/a> (<em>Athyrium niponicum<\/em> &#8216;Pictum&#8217;).<br \/>\nOnly reaching 1 foot (30cm), this has beautiful low fronds highlighted in silvery gray, with purple leaf-stems. Japanese Painted fern is the most colorful hardy fern, and one of the easiest to grow. Deciduous.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.perennials.com\/plants\/athyrium-filixfemina-vernoniae-cristatum.html\">Crested Lady Fern<\/a> (<em>Athyrium filix-femina<\/em> &#8216;Vernoniae Cristatum&#8217;).\u00a0 Forming dense mounds of bright green, very lacy fronds, this fern is a particularly easy variety to grow.\u00a0 Deciduous.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.perennials.com\/plants\/dryopteris-complexa-robust.html\">Robust Male Fern<\/a> (<em>Dryopteris complexa<\/em> &#8216;Robust&#8217;).\u00a0 A taller fern, excellent as a specimen plant.\u00a0 Fronds are dark green and long, arching gracefully under their own weight.\u00a0 A strong grower, but not invasive in the least.\u00a0 Deciduous.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.perennials.com\/plants\/dryopteris-cycadina.html\">Shaggy Shield Fern<\/a> (<em>Dryopteris cycadina<\/em>).\u00a0 Fronds are a light golden-green, while the undersides have interesting black scales.\u00a0 Evergreen in milder regions.\u00a0 Forms a low mound to 2 feet (60cm).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.perennials.com\/plants\/polystichum-acrostichoides.html\">Christmas Fern<\/a> (<em>Polystichum acrostichoides<\/em>).\u00a0 A very familiar garden fern, native to eastern North America.\u00a0 Plants form a tidy, low to medium-sized clump of dark-green, leathery fronds, remaining evergreen in most regions.\u00a0 Tolerates summer heat and humidity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.perennials.com\/plants\/dryopteris-erythrosora.html\">Autumn Fern<\/a> (<em>Dryopteris erythrosora<\/em>).\u00a0 Evergreen in milder winter regions, the new fronds emerge a bright copper colour, contrasting with the older green fronds.\u00a0 Low to medium in habit, and excellent for mass planting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1. SOME FERN FACTS Ferns are valuable garden plants of great dependability and beauty. Their leaves, known as fronds, can be lacy or leathery, plain green or variegated, providing a long season of interest.\u00a0 Rarely suffering from pests and diseases, they offer trouble-free elegance. Ferns were tremendously popular in Victorian times, and many of the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84,93],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-perennials-101","category-perennials-for-special-purposes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4044"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4264,"href":"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4044\/revisions\/4264"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.perennials.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}