Sorting through ferns

The greatest challenge in growing ferns is choosing from the bounty of beautiful specimens. Here's some tips to help you choose the best one for your lawn.

Local nurseries are often the best source of species known to grow well in your area, and it's a sound strategy to try several types in different places in your landscape to see which flourish. Mix ferns with spring-flowering bulbs, flowering annuals, such as impatiens, and shade-loving perennials, such as hellebore, hosta, woodland phlox and Solomon's seal.

Ferns may be evergreen, semi-evergreen or deciduous, depending on the species and the climate of your garden. Reliable evergreen ferns are rare except in mild-winter climates, but promising species are always worth trying. Ferns that go dormant in winter make up for their temporary absence by the show they stage beginning in spring, when the curled new fronds, called fiddleheads, emerge and slowly unfurl.

As an added bonus, the texture of deciduous ferns tends to be delicate, making them irresistible garden subjects. Whether evergreen or deciduous, you can cut back winter-tattered fronds in early spring to make way for fresh new growth.

1. Maidenhair fern, or Adiantum pedatum, features erect to arching 45 centimetre (18 inch) fronds. The fiddleheads emerge in spring looking like pink, clenched fists with ebony stems and quickly expand to produce clumps of overlapping fronds that dance in the breeze. Hardy from Zone 4, maidenhair fern prefers nearly neutral, moist soil and needs little if any fertilizer. After a few years, the plants form wide, loose clumps that can be easily divided.
2. Hardy from Zone 5, Japanese painted fern, or Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum', is a showstopper with pinkish stems and arching, triangular, gray-green fronds accented in silver and dark red. The fiddleheads emerge early in spring and quickly unfurl into lacy, 45 centimetre (18 inch) spearshaped fronds. Plants grow best with good light, so place them in partial rather than deep shade. Mulch with a thin topping of rotted manure or compost in early spring and mist the young plants lightly in early evening during summer dry spells.
3. Adding height and motion to the garden, the beech ferns, such as Phegopteris decursive-pinnata (formerly Thelypteris decursive-pinnata) have bold, 60 centimetre (25 inch) antlerlike fronds. Hardy from Zone 8, beech ferns produce bright green fronds from runners, so they eventually grow into a lush mass. This species likes moist, slightly acidic soil and benefits from light fertilization in early summer. In autumn, plants turn a tawny yellow before drying to chocolate brown.

1. Autumn fern, or Dryopteris erythrosora, is one of the most popular ferns. In spring its glossy fronds unfurl deep rust red, then turn green. From fall through winter, they take on a burnished sheen. Don't worry if a harsh winter ruins the fronds, because they recover quickly in spring. Hardy from Zone 6, autumn ferns stand 45 centimetres (18 inches) tall, prefer neutral to slightly acidic soil and benefit from a half-strength application of balanced fertilizer or a shallow mulch of compost early in the season.
2. Along with autumn fern, the Dryopteris genus includes many other species, collectively called wood ferns, that make excellent garden plants. Most of them are semi-evergreen and all are easy to grow.
3. Often called holly or Christmas ferns, various Polystichum species are the hardiest evergreen ferns. There are several North American natives, in addition to lovely forms from Asia and Europe. These ferns can grow on cold northern slopes, especially when they are kept moist and well fed. The foliage is typically dark and leathery, with plants growing in small clumps.