Life on the Shady Side: Ferns | News | shorelinemedia.net – shorelinemedia.net

In the early spring, when I have become totally disenchanted with winter and wonder if spring will ever arrive, I look out to my wooded back yard of brown leaves, bare limbed trees and see the tiniest green tops of Bracken ferns. Its time to celebrate! Soon I know my dull brown wooded yard will be filled with the fresh green of spring ferns. As I prepared this article I realized I didnt know much about this lovely plant or ferns in general. I will share with you what I have learned.

Ferns are an ancient plant. Fossils from 145 to 180 million years ago show ferns similar to the ones we see in our landscape today. Ferns do not have seeds or flowers. According to Larry Hodgson in Making the Most of Shade, Ferns dont bloom-ever! They are considered primitive plants, having evolved back with the first land animals, and are only a few notches above mosses on the evolutionary scale.

Ferns are made up of roots, stems and leaves. The leaves are many segmented and are feathery in appearance. The stems are called rhizomes and they grow horizontally at or just below soil level. New shoots may emerge from rhizomes. Some ferns reproduce by spores that look like tiny dots on the underside of the leaves. These are the genetic bases for new plants and they are called sori. Other ferns have spores on stiff brown fronds that grow up from the center of the plant. Ferns have roots with a specialized vascular system of xylem, a tissue that allows the plant to absorb water and phloem, a tissue that allows the absorption of nutrients.

Ferns are the quintessential shade plant. If you have a shade garden you soon learn that you are not going to have a garden filled with bright color and so you learn to appreciate attractive foliage and the various shades of the color green. Ferns have some of the loveliest foliage and come in all shades of green. Exceptions to the green foliage are the Painted and Autumn ferns, more about them later. When it comes to degrees of shade, ferns will live in the deepest shade to some sunlight in northern climates if kept very moist.

Ferns are a woodland plant and prefer soil with average fertility, humus rich, acidic and moist. According to Grow Earth Friendly of Spring Lake, Mich., ferns are sensitive to herbicides and weed control is best if nonchemical (get in your garden and pull those weeds or mulch, mulch, mulch). Most ferns are damaged when treated with low quality inorganic chemical fertilizers. They do however respond well to an early spring application of slow release fertilizer or a fall top dressing of leaf mold. Ferns need little maintenance. Wintergreen types may need some clean up in the spring. The deciduous types die back in the winter and their fronds are best allowed to rot and return nutrients to the soil.

Ferns are the perfect companion plant for Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Astilbe, Heuchera, Hostas, Bunnera and other ferns. Ferns can be used as an accent plant to draw attention to other plants or garden structures, as a ground cover contributing to a soft graceful texture in the landscape and as container plants combined with Ajuga, Ranunculus, Veronica and Vinca. When deciding how to use your ferns its good to know that some ferns grow in a clump forming fashion with leaves or fronds originating from the center or outside edge of the mound. There are other types of ferns that spread by their underground stems (remember rhizomes) to form thick colonies.

There are many kinds of ferns that are native to Michigan or can be successfully grown here. Some are perennials and will survive the winter either as wintergreen or deciduous, others are annuals and will only survive if brought inside. If you love ferns you will be happy to know our local nurseries are well stocked and are happy to help you select the fern of your dreams. Some of my favorites are the Brilliance Autumn Fern; the early fronds are a brilliant golden orange turning to green as they mature. A local favorite is the Ostrich fern, a classic fern with stately vase shaped form. It has stiff brown spores carrying fronds that form in late summer and last throughout the winter. It is considered an aggressive spreader, so beware! Well behaved and tidy ferns are the Painted and Lady Ferns. Japanese Painted ferns form clumps of dark green fronds with silvery or reddish metallic sheen. They die back in the winter and are slow to emerge in the spring. The early fronds of the Japanese Painted ferns are black and tiny and are easily disregarded when doing spring clean up or planting. One gardening expert suggests placing a marker by these ferns so when spring comes you dont accidentally plant or mulch over them. Ferns will make a beautiful addition to your shade garden. Take some time and explore the varieties that love our Oceana County shady gardens.

Now that I have finished writing this article I am going to pop some popcorn and sit down to watch one of my favorite movies, A New Leaf (1971). Starring Walter Matthau (Henry) and Elaine May (Henrietta), the movie is about a middle-aged playboy, Henry, who finds himself penniless and his quest to find and marry a rich woman. In his search he meets and marries a frumpy botany teacher, Henrietta, who happens to be an heir to a fortune. Her discovery of a new species of fern gives a delightful twist to this romantic comedy.

Oh, one more thing, that lovely Bracken fern that I like so well, I find its considered a weed in the gardening world. Oops!

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