Join Extension Master Gardener Elaine Mills as she discusses the unique lifecycle and distinctive physical characteristics of ferns as well as the many reasons to consider planting them in your garden. Details are provided for 16 commonly grown native ferns, including their distinguishing features, growth habits, light and soil preferences, support for wildlife, and uses in the landscape.
Zoom session, March 24, 2023
Video of Presentation
Chapter Breaks
- 0:00:00 Introduction
- 0:03:29 Life Cycle & Structure of Ferns
- 0:10:10 Reasons to Grow Ferns
- 0:11:24 Overview of Common Ferns
- 0:12:37 Clumping Ferns
- 0:20:33 Slow-Spreading Ferns
- 0:28:57 Fast-spreading Ferns
- 0:37:32 Questions
- 0:39:21 Additional Ferns for Northern Virginia
- 0:43:53 Care of Ferns
- 0:48:24 Landscaping with Ferns
- 0:52:14 Where to See Ferns
- 0:53:40 Where to Buy Ferns
- 0:54:37 Questions
Additional Resources
- Common Native Ferns of the Mid-Atlantic Handout – pdf
- Addendum with answers to questions brought up at the class – pdf
Clumping
Fast-spreading
Slow-Spreading
- Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum)
- Interrupted Fern (Osmunda claytoniana) [new designation Claytosmunda claytoniana]
- Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum)
- Royal Fern (Osmunda spectabilis) [formerly Osmunda regalis]
Additional Ferns of Northern Virginia
Native Ferns. Plant NOVA Natives.
https://www.plantnovanatives.org/native-ferns
- Evergreen Wood Fern (Dryopteris intermedia)
- Spinulose Wood Fern (Dryopteris carthusiana)
- Marsh Fern (Thelypteris palustris)
- New York Fern (Parathelypteris noveboracensis)
- Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum)
Note: Click on images to see enlarged photos, captions, and photo attributions.
On a mobile phone, click on the information symbol (circle with a letter ℹ︎ symbol).
Growing Ferns from Spores
- Growing ferns from spores – a basic practical guide. 2023. British Pteridological Society.
https://ebps.org.uk/ferns/growing/spore-exchange/growing-ferns-from-spores-a-basic-practical-guide/ - Jones, Judith. 2016. How to Grow Ferns from Spores. Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.
https://www.bbg.org/news/growing_ferns_from_spores
Where to Buy Ferns
Plant NOVA Natives
- Native-only sellers
https://www.plantnovanatives.org/native-only-sellers - Periodic Native Plant Sales in Northern Virginia
https://www.plantnovanatives.org/local-native-plant-sales
Virginia Native Plant Society
- Native Plant Nurseries
https://vnps.org/native-plant-nursery-list/
Maryland Native Plant Society
- Native Plant Nurseries
https://mdflora.org/nurseries.html
Glossary terms:
- Spores (tiny structures containing genetic material for new fern)
- Rhizome (underground stems, serve function of roots)
- Fiddlehead or crozier (coiled frond of young fern)
- Ramentum (thin brown scales protecting young fronds of ferns)
- Frond (leaf)
- Stipe (leafstalk)
- Lamina (blade or leafy area of frond)
- Rachis (midrib, vein)
- Pinna/pinnae (leaflets)
- Pinnatifid (frond lobed, remaining connected)
- Pinnate (frond divided into separate sections)
- Pinnule (secondary division of pinnate frond)
- Sorus/sori (cluster of sporangia, spore-producing receptacles)
- Sporangium/sporangia (enclosure in which spores are formed)
Fern Frond Parts
Netted Chain Fern