Male Fern

Bronzy new growth becomes dark green, with the symmetrical pinnately compound fronds of the native Male Fern (Dryopteris filix-mas)! This clump-forming Fern is found throughout North America and the Pacific Northwest. Featuring an upright habit that creates fountains of fine-textured divided and lustrous leaves, spouting from a single crown.

Snip a few fronds to add greenery to your indoor bouquets! By autumn, you'll enjoy a golden to orange fall color as the leaves prepare for winter, however, in mild winter climates, the leaves can remain semi-evergreen!

Named because it was once considered the companion to the Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina), the Male Fern is one of the most common Ferns of the temperate Northern Hemisphere, growing throughout USDA planting zones 4 to 8. These easy-to-grow shade-loving perennial Ferns can grow between 2-4 feet tall and wide depending on conditions and planting location.

Planting and Application:

Like all Ferns, the Male Fern favors damp shaded areas and is common in the understory of woodlands, but is also found in shady places on banks and clamoring among rocks. So of course, you can use this lacy greenery as accents, groupings, and long winding ribbons of lacy greenery throughout Rock Gardens, and on the margins of water gardens, ponds, and streams as long as they are in the shade.

Either way, the Fern provides a grand statement in the understory garden. Happily naturalizing beneath the canopy of large trees and shrubs. Use Male Fern as fringy facer plants to hide the bare leggy stems of older plants and hedges, or as a lacy foundation planting along the shaded side of your home. Ferns are gorgeous when used as backdrops or pathway edging, adding a lovely ambiance that sets everything else off magically.

If you have a tricky location, where only moss seems to grow, plant this lush greenery there instead! Even shaded container gardens, planters beneath covered patios, and around protected balconies are favorable for these Ferns! You'll gain privacy and some shade around your seating areas and the cooling greenery that only a stand of Ferns can provide your private nooks and meditation areas!

The crown of this Fern produces multiple plants, so divide the Male Fern regularly to increase your plants and to keep the symmetry, or allow it to become large clumps and drifts, allowing it to naturalize freely to fill large areas in refreshing greenery!

• Bronze New Growth Matures Dark Green
• Finely-Cut Compound Foliage
• Upright Clumping Dense Fountains - Naturalizes
• Golden Orange Fall Color - Can Remain Semi-Evergreen In Warm Winters
• Great in Planters, Shade Gardens, Edging, Facer Plants, En Masse & Backdrops

#ProPlantTips for Care:

These native Ferns prefer shade to part sun, requiring regularly moist, fertile, acidic well-drained soil locations. However, Male Ferns can also grow in dense shade and tolerate draining clay. The foliage can remain semi-evergreen in mild winter climates! Provide regular water access through their first year and add a 3-4 inch deep layer of compost and/or arborist mulch around the crowns (not covering them).

In the early spring, rake or trim out any dead debris and old fronds from the clumps. Also in early spring, divide clumps and redistribute them throughout your landscape as needed. Seldom eaten by deer or rabbits, these are perfect edging and mass plantings around your out-of-the-way shaded landscapes!

• Hardy Full to Part Shade Tolerant Native Fern
• Any Well-Drained Slightly Acidic Soil
• Regular Moisture Access
• Clean Mounds In Early Spring
• Deer & Rabbits Seldom Eat These Plants

Cool and refreshing, bronzy green then gold, the native Male Fern will add lush and rugged beauty to your shaded landscapes with ease! Order yours today at NatureHills.com!