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Dryopteris

Whether in the leading role or as a supporting act, Dryopteris (wood ferns) are garden stars. Meet the National Collection of them at RHS Harlow Carr, looked after by horticulturist Aimee-Beth Browning

The Dryopteris collection was started at RHS Harlow Carr in the 1980’s. It sits in an unassuming shady corner of the woodland with oak trees that dominate the canopy above. In spring, with the trees yet to fill out and the sunlight still reaching the woodland floor, a selection of new fiddleheads or croziers begin to quietly unfurl. They do so all together, signalling the return of spring, showing a small selection of just 59 taxa of a very large genus of plants. 

The collection was started by the Northern Horticultural Society and passionate, volunteer fern enthusiasts. Over the years, tremendous help has been given by the British Pteridological Society in helping to identify particular species as well as donating wonderful specimens. Ferns are notoriously hard to distinguish between each other, so their help has always been invaluable.

Meet the family

Dryopteris affinis ‘Cristata’ has a regal look
Dryopteris is a large group of ferns originating from different parts of the world. They thrive in a variety of locations from woodlands, deep shade, some sunny locations, mountainsides and wet areas. They can take on both the leading role, showing off their elegant shape and new emerging springtime fronds, or play a supporting role, covering the ground to make a soft textural understory in a shady patch of a garden. 

They are versatile and offer a range of different characteristics to a garden. There are evergreen and deciduous varieties, some of which are bold, where others are soft. Some have dark stem colours while others celebrate the fresh colours of a springtime woodland.

A popular fern in this collection is Dryopteris affinis AGM, the scaly male fern. It has many cultivars which offer different and wonderful features to their fronds, some being lacey and divided, with others simple and architectural. D. affinis ‘Cristata’ AGM is a handsome, upright fern that has crested tips giving it a regal feel. It also provides another semi-evergreen or evergreen plant for the garden.

Another evergreen selection is D. erythrosora AGM, which keeps its bright, lime green foliage colour through dark winter days. It’s known as the copper shield fern as its new fronds in the summer start as a salmon pink colour, which can be used to echo the colours of spring bulbs planted beside it. 

Dryopteris lepidopoda, aptly named the sunset fern
Another way to utilise this fern is to see it as a shrub replacement. Some Dryopteris get quite large over time, growing to 1-1.5m in height, with several growing points (rhizomes) that make small trunks that increase their width. Semi-evergreen forms of D. affinis make a great impact in a bed as a specimen, giving year-round interest. D. filix-mas AGM (also known as Aspidium filix-mas) forms are an easy-to-care-for plant in a shady corner, with a soft texture that can substitute a small shrub in a design.

Surprisingly perhaps, they’re not all just green. D. lepidopoda (sunset fern), another semi-evergreen, has new fronds that emerge as orange to pink before turning a deep green. The central stem (rachis) of the fronds of D. cycadina AGM (shaggy shield fern) is nearly black in appearance, with thick, dark scales which make its bright green frond colour seem to glow and in turn illuminates a shady spot. In autumn, many ferns change colours too, with D. filix mas turning lovely yellow hues to enrich a woodland display.

Ferns are tough, resilient and create a real sense of place.

Aimee-Beth Browning
Diverse appeal

There are over 200 species of Dryopteris worldwide, therefore the diversity in some of their appearances can offer a bit of an exotic appeal. D.sieboldii AGM is hardy in the UK even though it looks like it should only survive under glass, with leathery larger fronds that live in deep shade. Dryopteris wallichiana AGM is another specimen fern, native to the Himalayas. It has a luxuriant appearance with large, one metre long fronds and deep, brown-black scales, which make the new fiddleheads standout in the springtime.

Dryopteris wallichiana AGM unfurls its majestic fronds
In addition to the large and bold, there are varieties that are small, elegant and textural. Dryopteris dilatata ‘Lepidota Cristata’ AGM is a delicate crested form reaching up to a little over a foot in height. D. marginalis and D. dilatata AGM have the classic finely toothed foliage that sits dreamily among the tree trunks. 

In areas where you want to mix herbaceous perennials and bulbs with ferns, smaller and more compact types provide specimens that don’t dominate its companions. Dryopteris filix-mas ‘Crispa Cristata’ AGM has unique fronds that look crinkled, whereas D. carthusiana is a wonderful clump forming fern that accentuates neighbouring plants.

Tough cookies

Ferns are resilient. They have been around for millions of years. The Dryopteris at RHS Harlow Carr have shown great adaptability, with some growing in deep shade, while others have grown over time to tolerate a good amount of sun, as long as their feet stay on the damp side. Growing in the ground, on logs, in stumps, in between stones and on pathways, they have taught me to be creative and see how they may adapt to a situation, but always with a little help and coaxing through tough dry periods with a watering can close by until they settle in.

I often get asked what my favourite Dryopteris in the collection is, and I honestly can’t pick one, as they all display different qualities. The most wonderful thing about them is the sense of place they create together with their neighbours, they really are special plants.

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