As an overall group of plants, ferns are ancient – at least 359 million years old, possibly older. (Courtesy photo).
RICHMOND COUNTY — In addition to the daffodils and dogwoods blooming, there’s a subtle but equally welcome sign of spring in the garden and landscape: emerging fern fiddleheads. In a range of modest colors, pale green to reddish-brown, new fern fronds begin to unfurl as the weather gently warms, adding an elegant backdrop to the riot of color of spring blooms, equally attractive in their own quiet way. These are not the same ferns found in hanging pots across front porches every summer. These are “hardy” ferns which are grown in the landscape. If you haven’t explored introducing ferns to your garden, now may be a good time to consider adding these fabulous plants to your landscape!
What is a fern?
As an overall group of plants, ferns are ancient – at least 359 million years old, possibly older. They are “vascular plants”, which is a fancy way of saying they have roots, stems and leaves and specialized tissues that move water and nutrients throughout the plant. Prior to the evolution of vascular plants there were mosses and similar plants which did not have those structures. Ferns have stems with small “leaflets” running up the stem, which together make up the overall frond, or leaf, of the plant. Different ferns have different growth habits: some spread over the soil, with fronds creating a low ground cover, while others may be a bunch of fronds together in a cluster. A big difference between ferns and later evolving vascular plants is their basic reproductive system. Ferns do not produce flowers and seeds for reproduction, and instead have spores on the underside of leaflets. The spores are dispersed by wind and rain to grow new plants. Some ferns are also able to reproduce “vegetatively” – that is, asexually, by producing small, clonal replicas of the plant which drop off and grow a new plant adjacent to the parent, or by growing a new plant from an underground rhizome (a type of underground stem structure). As some of the first plants to evolve on land, most ferns prefer moist and shady sites, however there are some species adapted to drier environments.
Native ferns of the Sandhills
The Sandhills have a number of beautiful ferns that thrive in our region. On a recent Richmond Roots Garden Club hike at the Weymouth Nature Center in Southern Pines, we noticed Netted Chain fern (NCF) growing in the swampy areas along the creek. If there’s a low, wet area in your yard where other plants struggle, Netted Chain fern could be a problem solver for a difficult spot, although it can also be grown in well amended garden soil if kept consistently moist. A deciduous plant, the leaves die back in the fall, with fronds emerging in early spring. NCF is a spreading fern, and makes a lovely low growing ground cover when happy.
Christmas fern is a native evergreen clumping fern often found on flood plains, forest floors, or stream sides. It would perform well in speckled shade in garden soil supplemented with organic
matter that receives some irrigation during period of droughts. The name comes from the shape of the individual leaflet, which is shaped like a (Christmas) stocking!
Cinnamon fern is a striking fern to add to a woodland garden. The large fronds – which can be up to two to four feet long – are green through the summer before turning yellow in fall and dying out. The name comes from the stiff, spore-bearing fronds which unfurl during the early spring, which are a distinctive brownish-red color against the green leaves. A wonderful element in the garden border!
Bracken fern is one of the most noticeable native ferns we have in our region. In well-managed longleaf forests, you may see broad swaths of the forest floor covered in the dark green fern during the summer. The fronds die back in the winter, then re-emerge in the spring. Due to it’s spreading, though non-aggressive, nature, it makes an excellent ground cover in a dry, natural area under pine trees.
One more special fern to keep your eye out for: the Cut-leaf Grape Fern. This adorable, small, evergreen fern is found in bottom-lands and deciduous woodlands in our region. The infertile fronds are green to blue-green in color with a wavy leaf margin. The fertile fronds come straight up through the leaves and are covered in small round spores resembling tiny grape clusters, hence the name. Should you find one in your garden or landscape, you’ll want to make it a highlight of your garden!
All these native ferns need soil well augmented with rotted leaves or other organic matter. Best to leave off the compost though – these natives are adapted to low nutrient soils.
The NC Native Plant Society has a list of ferns native to NC and their preferred environment. There are several nurseries which source native ferns; remember, plants should never be harvested from nature, as most of the time they do not survive removal and transplanting to a new site. For more information about utilizing native plants in your garden, contact NC Cooperative Extension, Richmond County Center, at 910-997-8255, visit our website, Richmond.ces.ncsu.edu, and follow us on Facebook: NC Cooperative Extension, Richmond County.