February Perennial of the Month-Marginal wood fern

The marginal wood fern, Dryopteris marginalis, is one of Missouri’s native evergreen ferns. If you love ferns and have plenty of shade, it makes a beautiful, well-behaved addition that can reward you year-round, especially in winter when the rest of the understory or shade garden is bare and lifeless.

The Marginal wood fern is not named for living along the edge of the woods but for the sori (those clusters of cute little glands, or sporangia, under the fern’s leaf where it releases spores) which line the edges or ‘margins’ of the frond’s underside.

Marginal wood ferns love deep, moist soils rich with organic matter. They will thrive in deep to part-shade conditions, rarely growing more than 2′ high and wide. They are super low-maintenance and even deer resistant.

What I love about this plant;

-The graceful fronds and vase-shaped habit when planted alone or in a mass.

-It’s a great evergreen perennial for winter interest.

-Deer resistant.

-VERY low-maintenance-will not spread and take over!

-Drought resistant.

-It’s native!

-Tolerates deep shade.

What’s not so great;

-If your fronds get a little ragged over the winter. Cut them off in late winter or early spring, and the new foliage will replace them.

Words and photos by Jo Batzer

© Jo Batzer, garden-lou.com, All rights reserved.