In the past few decades, when people think of plants for the shaded areas of their landscapes, they turn to Hostas. They are now the number one selling perennial in the United States

However, this has not always been the case and there are plenty of other alternatives to use in the shade. Perhaps the more traditional plant of choice is the fern. Believe it or not, they are still out there and need to be used more...if only as a textural contrast for hostas. But then, I must confess that I am a hostafile myself.

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• Season Long Interest - The main point of interest with ferns is, of course, their foliage. Unlike flowers that come and fade quickly, foliage maintains its interest throughout the season. From the fronds unfurling in the spring to the hint of fall color, ferns can provide a beautiful part of your landscape.
   

• Persistence - As long as the ferns you use are rated for your USDA Hardiness Zone, they should be a fixture in your landscape for years to come. To one degree or another, they will spread and fill the area over time.
   

• Problem Free - Plant ferns in the environment that they like and they are generally free of major insect or disease problems.
   

• Design Potential - Ferns are strong plants but they are also beautiful and contribute to your landscape design. Their foliage is generally fine textured and can be used to complement nearby coarse texture plants such as large leaved hostas. They can perform the function of mass in large groupings and variations in frond colors can help highlight neighboring plants.
   

• Invasiveness - A few species spread by rhizomes meaning that they can take over an area if left to their own devices. Check this out before you buy and install ferns.
  
  A few ferns with a reputation for becoming invasive would include bracken fern, (Pteridium aquilinum), New York fern, (Thelypteris noveboracensis), Old World climbing fern, (Lygodium microphyllum) and Japanese climbing fern, (Lygodium japonicum). Of course there are others so check them out.

• pH Requirements - Since they are generally native to woodland areas, many ferns prefer an acidic soil although they will tolerate a wide range. Soils with a pH well above neutral (pH 7.0) may need to be acidified.
   

• Propagation - Ferns are not seed producing plants. Rather, they reproduce through an organ called a spore. Propagating ferns using spores can be an interesting process for the backyard gardener.

The typical fern found in home landscapes would include the following parts which may usually be used as traits for identifying the different species.

• rhizomes - A rhizome is an underground stem also found in Iris and quackgrass. It acts as the link between the roots which draw moisture and nutrients from the soil and the fronds which carry out photosynthesis. In ferns, the rhizome accounts for the particular growth habit of the fern i.e. whether it is an upright, creeping or other form.
   

• Croziers or Fiddleheads - These are the first structures you see in the spring as the new fronds are beginning to emerge. They resemble the head of a violin and, depending on how they unwind, they can be used to identify the species.
   

• Frond - What would be called a compound leaf in seed bearing plants is called the frond on ferns. That is the term for the entire structure which is made up of:
   

  • Stipe - This is the segment of the "stem" of the frond that emerges from the underground rhizome and has no structures growing from it. It can be a few inches or several inches in length.
     

  • Blade - Located above the stipe, the blade is made up of the supporting stalk called the rachis and the "leafy" structures called a pinna (pinnae in plural). Even smaller units called pinnule combine to make up the pinna.
     

  • Coverings - The frond may also have structures called hairs or scales which help protect it. The presence or absence of hairs or scales can be help identify a species of ferns.

Similar to leaves on seed bearing plants, ferns also have various configurations for the way their parts are arranged. Instead of leaf blades, in ferns, we talk about frond parts. Again, this particular characteristic is one that is used to help identify the species of fern.

The term most commonly used to describe the difference in fronds is dissection. Generally, this means the peaks and valleys of the frond. In leaves, we call them lobes and distinguish them by how deep the lobe goes toward the midrib (the rachis in ferns).

Fern fronds can be categorized as follows:

1. Simple - These fronds are undissected i.e. have no lobes.
    

2. Pinnate - The blade (pinna) is divided once completely to the stem (rachis) where it is narrowed at the point of attachment or is stalked.
    

3. Bipinnate - The blade (pinna) is divided twice. Once where the tiny pinnules attach to the rachis of the pinna. Second where the pinna attaches to the main rachis.
    

4. Tripinnate and Quadripinnate - Further dissection of the parts of the frond.
    

5. Pinnatifid - This is when there is a partial dissection of the pinna or pinnule where the dissection does not go all the way to the main rachis or the rachis of the pinna.

Fern fronds are also categorized by the type of reproductive tissue they contain.

1. Infertile Fronds - The first fronds produced in the spring by many ferns are sterile.
    
2. Fertile Fronds - These fronds bear the sporangia which are the spore producing organs of the fern. A cluster of sprangia are (for some reason) called a son. These groups may be round, oblong or linear in shape and may be covered by a thin mantle layer called the indusium (plural is indusia).
   
   Fertile frond usually unfurl later in the spring. However, to the untrained eye, they may be confused with the sterile fronds.
   
   a. Fertile fronds are identical to the sterile frond. Ex. Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-fernina)
   
   b. Fertile fronds are similar to the sterile frond. Ex. Interrupted Fern (Osmunda clatoriana)
   
   c. Fertile fronds are entirely different from the sterile frond. These are called dimorphic fronds. Ex. Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris)

• Easy to Grow
• Fern Species

• Ferns - General
• Life Cycle