Wild Bracken Fern, should I move it to my garden?
Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
last year
I had close to 100 trees removed from my property this year, and now "full shade" areas are suddenly "full sun". This has led to some interesting growth!
I'm finding a ton of bracken fern:
I've embraced fern in my shade gardens, so the prospect of having a similar plant in my full sun / low water areas is interesting. But I'm coming across contradictory information on whether I should actually keep it!
For example, this is on the same page:
"Keep Bracken Fern in untamed sites and avoid planting it in the garden, where the deep rootstocks make it a tough, invasive weed."
"This plant is a fine choice for cottage gardens or woodland gardens"
https://www.gardenia.net/plant/pteridium-aquilinum
So what do you think? Transplant it to a full sun garden, or dig it up and toss it out like a weed?
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Comments (9)
linaria_gw
last yearthis pic is from Germany, early in the season (May-ish), just when they sprout.
do you notice how little else grows there?
to my knowledge, bracken is kind of feared by biodiversity projects as it is very dominant and squishes all the rest
so, a hard no, I think, if you plan to have more than one species in a large area
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Comments (6)So today is the 28th day and we've been watching her for a month. She laid 13 eggs total. Checked on her this afternoon and she was still sitting there. Went food shopping and 2 hours later the nest was scattered, mom was dead, and only 9 eggs remained. One of the remaining had a peck hole in the side that didn't go all the way through, so I'm thinking she was attacked by a flock of seagulls. She had been spreading the eggs out so they weren't all under her at once (previously they were piled in a mound and she sat on top). I am guessing the gulls saw the eggs and attacked her. There were no cat tracks in the sand, but many webbed bird tracks. As soon as we realized what happened, we grabbed them all (most were hot still, especially underneath where they were on the nest, but a few were warm and one was a foot or so away from the nest and was cool) and we warmed them back up with a hairdryer (we were desperate to raise the temp quickly!) and now have them in a foam/fleece cuddle cup from my old guinea pig with a heat lamp over them. The temp got to 100 and I had to pull it back. I have a thermometer you use when you get sick in there to monitor the temperature. I candled them and see the air pocket and laid the eggs with the pocket up, but don't know what else to look for. There's no movement and no peeping. Praying these babies make it with a clueless unprepared human!...See MoreBracken Ferns
Comments (2)Tom in Pa.... I think Bracken Fern is native everywhere! But I choose not to grow it, since I have several other species that are invasive; New York, Ostrich, Japanese Beech, Bramble & Tongue or Felt Ferns. I have found Bracken in the wild and when growing on rather dry slopes, it doesn't appear to be that invasive. But when found growing in constantly moist locations, such as stream banks and edge of bogs or ponds, it had formed huge colonies. I collected some from a construction site once for a friend, who wanted it for his Fern collection, of more than 200 species! We are experiencing snow again today, for the second time this week. Only a couple of inches, but that is a big deal around here! Temperature warmed a few degrees and snow turned to rain and it is beginning to melt. Roads will be treacherous by morning, since the temperature is falling into the teens tonight. Good luck with your ferns. As long as Asparagus is available, I find no great compulsion to harvest fiddleheads! Rb...See MoreNeed help moving ferns
Comments (6)I am guessing they are Ostrich ferns. Of the several variety I grow they are the travelers. Look for small crowns that have a leaf or two coming up only an inch or two. Dig with a shovel or trowel the depth of the shovel next to the crown and scoop them out root and all. If they are in grass you will want to brush the grass from the roots. Then bury them at the same depth they were. Water daily for a week. You should be good to go. You MAY get a larger crown, leaf combo to survive but it is not as easy. WATER WATER WATER is the key. In some areas if they die off this year a new fern may come up from the root next year. That will depend on soil type and drainage. Again the younger and earlier in the season you try the more success you will have. Let us know. If they are not brown in a week or two after transplanting you did it!...See Morewild ferns
Comments (6)If you have permission to dig on that land (or it is your own land) then ferns are quite transferable to the garden. Many ferns grow off each other, so just take a shovel and dig around the one you want and keep some dirt on the rootball. Place them in a bucket or plastic bag for transporting. You can do this when they are green or dormant (but you'd have to find the dead foliage to recognize them). Cinnamon ferns do grow on the creek banks and don't mind having their toes in the water. They also grow fine in the garden, but don't always get as big as when they have lots of water and sun. Tall ferns in the woods may be ostrich ferns. Another moisture loving tall fern is Royal fern....See More
Sigrid
last yearJason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
last year
rosaprimula
last yearlinaria_gw
last yearfloral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last yearJason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
last yearlinaria_gw
last yearlast modified: last year
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK