How to Grow Blechnum spicant ( Native Deer Fern )

Blechnum spicant ( Native Deer Fern )

A lush foliage native fern, Deer Fern provides soft texture, and bright green color to the shade or woodland garden.

Quick Facts About Deer Fern:

• WILDLIFE: deer resistant
  
• MATURE SIZE: 30" X 30"
• USDA HARDINESS: Zone 5 - 8
• SUN TOLERANCE: Does best with afternoon shade
  
• GROWS BEST IN: Semi-moist to moist soil that is rich in organic matter
• USE FOR: Excellent for front of the border in the shade garden, plant in groups under trees, adjacent to hostas or use in shade container gardens.
  

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How to Grow Native Deer Fern:

1. Select a location that has dappled sun or partial shade. Woodland ferns such as Deer Fern grow
   best in locations where shade perennials such as Hostas or Astilbes grow well in.
   
2. Amend your garden soil as needed before you plant. Deciduous ferns prefer a slightly acidic soil with 50 to 75 percent organic matter, good water retention, and excellent drainage. To add organic materials to your soil, work about 4 inches of coarse compost, rotted bark, or fine pine bark into the top 4 to 6 inches. Avoid using animal manure, which can be high in salts and weed seeds.
   
3. Dig a planting hole only slightly larger than the size of the plant container. 
4. Place the Deer Fern in the hole and backfill with topsoil, water thoroughly.
5. Do not over fertilize! The tender roots of the Deer Fern can be burned by synthetic fertilizers such as Mircale Gro or Scotts. Ferns typically derive all of their essential nutrients from leaf mulch mold, and decomposition of bark found in the planting soil. If you need to supplement naturally found nutrients, use an organic fish or kelp fertilizer such as Maxi-Crop Acid liquid fertilizer.
   
6. Water on a regular basis the first year or so, until established. Deer Ferns are drought tolerant perennial plants, but require regular water their first year to get established root systems. If your fern is planted in a sunny location, supplemental irrigation will be required.
   
7. Deer ferns are deciduous plants which will die back all the way to the ground in colder gardening zones. In the spring remove any dead or drying fronds.