Dryopteris affinis

Dryopteris affinis: His Majesty of Crested Fronds

Golden-scaled stems, crested tips on every leaflet and the posture of somebody who has never once been asked to wait in line. This fern doesn't enter the shade garden. IT HOLDS COURT IN IT.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Dryopteris affinis
• Common Name: Golden-scaled Male Fern
• Height: 60–120 cm (2–4 ft)
• Spread: 75–90 cm (2.5–3 ft)
• Flowers: None. It's a fern.
• Foliage: Arching, deep green fronds with crested leaflet tips and golden-scaled stems. New fronds open lighter green. Semi-evergreen where winters are mild, dying back in colder areas.
• Features: Rabbit resistant, bold texture

Where to Plant: Give it room to be the focal point of a shade bed, a woodland garden or a large container, where the crested fronds read as texture from across the yard. Under a canopy of trees it gives the bed the shape of a fountain.

Companion Plants: Plant golden-scaled male fern in a moist, shady bed with crimson spring flowers and silver and gold accents. Epimedium × rubrum opens crimson and cream flowers at 20 to 30 cm in April and May. Heuchera 'Grape Soda' adds grape-purple foliage at 20 to 25 cm. Athyrium 'Ghost' brings silvery fern fronds at 60 cm for a lighter texture. Hakonechloa 'Aureola' edges the bed at 30 to 46 cm with gold-striped blades.

Plant Care: Plant in part to full shade, in moist, humus-rich soil that drains well. Mix in compost or leaf mould at planting time. Keep it evenly moist, especially in its first summer and during heat; it's not a dry-shade fern. In spring, before the new fronds unroll, cut back any old fronds that are brown or flattened by snow. A mulch of shredded leaves keeps the roots cool and moist. It forms a crown rather than spreading and seldom needs dividing.

History: Dryopteris affinis is native to the damp woodlands of Europe, southwest Asia and North Africa, and its common name comes from the dense golden-brown scales on the frond stalks. Crested forms like this one have been grown since Victorian times, when collecting unusual ferns was a full-blown hobby in Britain.

Final Thoughts: Give it a shady throne and let the hostas bow. LONG LIVE THE KING, AND HIS VERY FANCY HAIR.