My Garden Delight

Christmas Ferns – an Evergreen all Year Round Fern

The Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides, 15-18 in.), also called canker brake or dagger fern, has rich dark glossy leaves, is one of the sturdiest and most dependable of the ferns. Last year’s fronds are still green as this year’s new ones emerge. It’s easy to recognize the Christmas fern. Each pinna is shaped like a long Christmas stocking, foot and all. Light brown scales also cling to the stalk. The plant remains one plant for years. This type fern spreads by spores alone and not by underground runners or by division of clumps like some other plants.

The common polypody (Polypodium vulgare, 4-10 in.) sends a slew of erect fronds growing across the surface of rocky ledges where they are bright green, whether they are surrounded by snow or basking in the summer heat. They soften harsh ledge look wherever they grow. These ferns also cling to steep banks. They make splendid material for your terrarium if you have one.

The evergreen wood-fern, leather wood-fern or marginal shield fern (Dryopteris marginalise 2-3 ft.) weathers almost any winter and is found among snowy boulders in thickly forested areas. They are common, easy to grow, and they spread very slowly, remaining a single plant for some time. You will recognize this fern by fruit dots located on the margins of the pinnae and the chestnut brown scales on the stems. It has a habit during the growing season of its roots erupting several inches out of the ground.

The ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron, 4-12 in.) is almost evergreen. You can find its twisting turning stem and delicate green pinnae snuggled in any bank of snow along with ground pine and cedar. It takes many hard freezes before this fern finally gives up. It too is ideal for terrariums. These ferns are some of the few hardy plants that can take difficult winter cold.

Bulblet Berries

The berry bladder fern (Cystopteris bulbifera, 2-3 ft.) not only likes rich moist woods but is often found clinging to limestone cliffs. A fine ground-cover for large areas, it spreads rapidly. You will know it by its tapering almost vinelike fronds. You can especially see the tiny bulblets at the base of the pinnae that drop to the ground and sprout. That’s the “berry” in its common name. It also bears the more conventional fruit dots like some other ferns.

The cinnamon fern (Osmunda cinnamonea, 3-5 ft.) is not only one of the loveliest ferns but also one of the easiest to grow. You will know it by the abundance of golden brown wooliness on its unwinding fronds in the spring. Also characteristic are brown wool-like hairs on the stem, a tuft of down at the base of each pinna, and several long slender lovely sporophyll during the summer. The fruiting stalk is a nice cocoa brown, erect and clustered.

Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum, 3-4 ft.) which has a nice Scottish sound to it does thrive in Scotland as well as in almost every country in the world. In England it was once the basis of an old time medicine. And believe it or not, in rural areas many mattresses were stuffed with these fern fronds to prevent rickets! Bracken is an informal fern suitable for casual plantings. It is one of the most adaptable of the ferns and will grow anywhere. Where nothing else will live, the bracken fern will thrive, and spread furiously. The sporophyl edges curl under, and spore cases are hidden beneath these rolls.

The fragile fern or brittle bladder fern (Cystopteris fragilia, 5-18 in.) is not too fragile to grow all over the world. It grows even in the frigid areas of Alaska and Greenland. Thus brittle bladder fern actually is a robust grower. The brittleness of its stems is responsible for its name. Clinging along shaded rock ledges, this particular fern also grows on the ground. It is among the first ferns to pop up in the spring.