About

A large, vigorous, deciduous fern forming spreading colonies from wide-creeping rhizomes, with broadly triangular, twice-pinnate, pale to mid-green fronds to over 1m tall. A dramatic but very invasive native plant; best contained and used in rough, naturalistic settings on acid soils.

About the genus

Dryopteris can be deciduous, semi-evergreen or evergreen ferns, with stout, erect or decumbent rhizomes and shuttlecock-like rosettes of lance-shaped to ovate, pinnately divided fronds

Plant details

Suggested usesShade gardens, woodland, containers.

Care notes

CultivationPlant in moist, humus-rich soil in shade.
PruningRemove old fronds in spring.
PropagationPropagate by division, cuttings, or seed.
Pest resistanceGenerally pest-free.
Disease resistanceGenerally disease-resistant.