This native fern will be a lovely addition to your woodland garden, beautifully capturing the PNW naturalistic aesthetic when grouped with other ferns and shade-loving native & water-wise perennials. Spreading wood-fern is the most finely-textured and lacy of our native ferns, yet it is surprisingly durable: some fronds persist as a semi-evergreen presence through the winter, with newer fronds emerging from a central base in spring.
This fern is more petite than its more robust Lady Fern cousin (with which it’s often confused!). It grows ~24-36 in. high and only about 12-15 in. across, making it ideal to slip into slender pockets in a shady landscape. It grows well in most soils (including heavy, damp soils), works in both dry and moist shade, and is sometimes favored for tricky spots like the north side of a home where other plants may falter.
Pair it with with other part- to full-shade plants such as: Evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium), Inside-out flower (Vancouveria), Trilliums, Wild ginger (Asarum), Hellebore, Epimedium, other ferns, and native & water-wise woodland Carex and Luzula. You can also plant it in a nurse log, or up against a nurse stump for even more natural aesthetic appeal as well as habitat value!
Fun facts: Although it doesn’t have flowers, it serves as a larval host to some species of moths (also important pollinators!). Like Sword Fern, the spores on the undersides of the wood-fern fronds can be rubbed onto bee stings and stinging nettle irritations to reduce the discomfort.
[Note: When purchasing in our fall sale, plants will show a mix of fall color, fully deciduous, and evergreen fronds.]
This native fern will be a lovely addition to your woodland garden, beautifully capturing the PNW naturalistic aesthetic when grouped with other ferns and shade-loving native & water-wise perennials. Spreading wood-fern is the most finely-textured and lacy of our native ferns, yet it is surprisingly durable: some fronds persist as a semi-evergreen presence through the winter, with newer fronds emerging from a central base in spring.
This fern is more petite than its more robust Lady Fern cousin (with which it’s often confused!). It grows ~24-36 in. high and only about 12-15 in. across, making it ideal to slip into slender pockets in a shady landscape. It grows well in most soils (including heavy, damp soils), works in both dry and moist shade, and is sometimes favored for tricky spots like the north side of a home where other plants may falter.
Pair it with with other part- to full-shade plants such as: Evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium), Inside-out flower (Vancouveria), Trilliums, Wild ginger (Asarum), Hellebore, Epimedium, other ferns, and native & water-wise woodland Carex and Luzula. You can also plant it in a nurse log, or up against a nurse stump for even more natural aesthetic appeal as well as habitat value!
Fun facts: Although it doesn’t have flowers, it serves as a larval host to some species of moths (also important pollinators!). Like Sword Fern, the spores on the undersides of the wood-fern fronds can be rubbed onto bee stings and stinging nettle irritations to reduce the discomfort.
[Note: When purchasing in our fall sale, plants will show a mix of fall color, fully deciduous, and evergreen fronds.]
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