Description
Matteuccia struthiopteris
CT DR RG
Soil: Peaty and/or Sandy, Well-drained
Light: Part to Full Shade (part shade preferred)
Moisture: Moist to Wet
Plant Height: 3 to 6 feet
Plant Width: 5 to 8 feet
Pests: None
Landscape Value: Great for mass planting in woodlands, shady rain gardens, and near streams and ponds. Good planted with spring ephemerals that will be going dormant when fern reaches full size.
Clump-forming, deciduous fern with both fertile and sterile fronds (leaves) that emerge from a narrow base. Sterile fronds emerge in the spring as fiddleheads and unfurl to become tall, upright or arching with abruptly tapered tips. Finely dissected fronds have the feathery appearance of long ostrich plumes. Sterile fronds form a vase-like circle around fertile fronds, and fade as summer proceeds looking tattered by fall. Fertile fronds are erect, spike-like and dark brown, arising in mid-summer and persisting through winter. Spreads by rhizomes (underground stems) to form dense colonies. Not recommended for small spaces. Tolerates rabbits, clay soil, wet soil, and sandy soil. Tolerates heavy shade but may not produce fertile fronds. Emerging fiddleheads are edible when cooked, and harvested for commercial purposes as well as home use.
5-pint pot
Photo Credits:
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (photo by Alan Cressler)
Missouri Botanical Garden
