If you have a shady spot, these perennials can add amazing texture to your garden
Ferns are among the most beautiful foliage industrial plant you could grow . With lush , handsome , attractively textured leafage , and mythic forms and coloring , ferns are useful in the shaded landscape in any issue of way . Easy to care for , ferns are arresting when planted in mass in a timber setting or develop singly as a foliage specimen among shade - loving inflorescence perennials . And they ’re just lovely when used as a bright , textural accent , dressing up a well - placed , shaded patio container . fern are generally low sustentation , knotty , and virtually pesterer - free , with even rabbits and deer tending to deflect them . Most fern are easy to grow , even for the novice gardener , if you follow a few simple rules .
How to grow perennial ferns
The be are a few thing to keep in mind if you want to have a successful fern - maturate experience .
picture : In Northern California , ferns do well when planted in a shelter , shaded location — even deep spook where not too many other plants might thrive — but they will tolerate some morning sunshine . Ferns also do well with all - day , filtered , or dappled sunlight — through an overhead tree canopy or under a shady pergola , for case .
Soil : Ferns appreciate evenly moist dirt , productive in organic material such as well - age compost . Pine needles , oak tree leave , or hunky-dory fir bark are ideal mulches to utilise around fern to serve conserve moisture and preclude skunk competition . Most fern are not fussy about pH and happily grow in neutral to moderately acid soil .
Moisture : Though some fern varieties can make do with less water than others ( see below for some drouth - tolerant choices ) , most fern thrive when the soil drain well and is evenly , systematically moist . With our summer ironical climate , be develop to irrigate your fern on a even basis during the teetotal season .
Fertilizer : Though they ’re not heavy feeders , impart a level of well - compost manure in crepuscle build up the grease and adds nitrogen . Most ferns will definitely appreciate the fall cost increase . you’re able to also supplement in spring with an software of well - balanced 16 - 16 - 16 plant food if your fern is showing sign of the zodiac of nutrient lack .
alimony : Ferns are low - maintenance plants , needing little more than cleanup spot and a tidying of dead , brown or dried up frond . Many variety are wintertime sleeping and will send up newfangled shoot in springiness . For the deciduous types , remove all the previous year ’s dead frond in later winter before unexampled growth emerges . For evergreen fern , simply lop off any dried or drained frond at the base whenever necessary .
Tried and true varieties that won’t let you down
Not all fern are created equal . Some are sincerely show - stoppers based on their looks alone , while others are worthy garden additions because of their drought tolerance . The following are just a few of my absolute favorite fern for our neighborhood .
Tassel fern (Polystichum polyblepharum, Zones 5–8)
Native to Japan and southern Korea , this showy fern is totally at home in a Northern California garden , working well in any forest garden , shaded border , or container . gold - chocolate-brown young fronds unfurl into long , lustrous , glossy , deep green , dissected frond with furry , golden - brown undersides . A long - lived , vigorous evergreen pass on 2 feet marvellous and 3 feet wide , tassel fern is not quite as drought broad as my other three option , but it ’s also not as fussy as many other fern !
Western sword fern (Polystichum munitum, Zones 6–9)
This hardy fern is aboriginal to the western United States and is most often spotted in vigorous bunches growing along creek - side or on the storey of a shadowed redwood grove . This comparatively drought - patient of evergreen fern is equally at home in an decorative setting , with up to 100 shining , leathery , toothed fronds per big , full clump . It ’s a smasher , at 3 to 6 feet tall and extensive at maturity .
Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris, Zones 3–7)
Once show , this elegant U.S. aboriginal produces bombastic , upright , arching , crownlike clumps of exquisitely break down green fronds . Each one resembles a long , feathery ostrich plume ( hence the common name ) . Reaching 3 to 6 feet marvelous and wide at maturity , this smasher is deciduous , break back in late fall , so a little maintenance is ask in winter when dead fronds need to be polish off . Fresh , newfangled , bright gullible fronds unfurl from the dirt in leaping , just like a curly fiddlehead fern .
Leather-leaf fern (Polypodium scouleri, Zones 8–10)
Native to the moist coastal woods of the western United States , this rugged evergreen fern spread by crawl rhizomes and is as happy to grow on trees , rocks , or logs as it is in a shaded boundary line or container . Stout , leathery , lime dark-green fronds mature to a productive , dark green and are deep lobed and nicely textured . This downcast grower reaches only 8 to 12 inch high , spreads nicely , and is quite drouth large-minded once launch , just command subsidiary wet in summer .
— Fionuala Campion is the proprietor and manager of Cottage Gardens of Petaluma in Petaluma , California .
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As far as low-care perennials go, ferns are pretty hard to beat. For the most part, all they need is a shady spot and moderate moisture.Photo: Fionuala Campion
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A perfect choice for the middle of a shady border, tassel fern starts out golden yellow in early spring before turning deep green later in the season.Photo: Ann E. Stratton
If you’re looking for glossy, practically perfect foliage, look no further than Western sword fern.Photo: Fionuala Campion
Ostrich fern is no shrinking violet, topping off in some situations at over 6 feet tall.Photo: Fionuala Campion
A ground cover fern? Absolutely. Leather-leaf fern will creep politely through your beds without getting too overzealous with its shady neighbors.Photo: millettephotomedia.com
