Friday, September 27, 2013

Woodwardia fimbrata, my favorite plant in the garden this week


I bought this giant chain fern (Woodwardia fimbrata) last year at the HPSO Hortlandia sale. I wasn't sure how it would like the rain garden. I knew it would like the winter wet but I didn't know if it would be able to take the dryness in summer, not to mention the midday sun.

Well, this guy has behaved like a champ. It gets the carwash treatment in summer instead of a proper slow soak and yet it never showed signs of wilting or browning. I suspect I got lucky but I'll take it.

Better yet, it reproduced.


I hope it will continue to reproduce because I would love for this area to be covered in giant ferns. In the wild these ferns can get to 10' tall. Whoa.

The stats (source: Encyclopedia of Northwest Native Plants for Gardens and Landscapes):

  • Zones 6a-9b
  • Prefers moist to wet soil
  • Full to part shade
  • 5x5' in a garden setting, much larger in the wild
  • Evergreen
My favorite plant in the garden this week is hosted by Loree at Danger Garden. Be sure to check out what she's liking this week!

7 comments:

  1. So very beautiful…I'd love to see one that's 10 feet tall!

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  2. That's so pretty! I love ferns and added one this year. I have a small one that came up around the base of a rose...I'd rather have the fern than the rose. Gotta figure out what to do there!

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  3. I hear you on that one! There must be something hospitable in roses, my neighbor has a bunch sprouting wild from the base of hers. I always try to steal them before her landscapers tear them out.

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  4. I love ferns too, and that one is beautiful. I have a couple that get big, but none that get 10 or even 5 feet tall.

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  5. I have some ferns that volunteer too, but I don't know what they are. A 10' tall fern would be impressive.

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  6. Ten feet tall? Good lord. Looks like if it's possible yours will do it!

    Aren't fern babies the best?

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  7. Like I always say, the best ferns are giant ferns! But why can't it be hardy in zone 5? I feel discriminated against.

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