Matteuccia struthiopteris

Matteuccia struthiopteris: Feathery Fronds with Fiddlehead Fame

Ostrich Fern is a native that grows into a giant green shuttlecock and hands you dinner every spring. Yes, those are the fiddleheads. YOUR SHADE GARDEN IS NOW A FARMERS' MARKET.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Matteuccia struthiopteris
• Common Name: Ostrich Fern
• Height: 90–150 cm (3–5 ft), taller in moist, rich soil
• Spread: 90–120 cm (3–4 ft) per clump, forming colonies over time
• Flowers: None. It's a fern. In late summer it sends up short, stiff, brown fertile fronds that hold spores and stand through winter.
• Foliage: Bright green, finely divided fronds in an upright, shuttlecock-shaped clump. Edible fiddleheads in early spring.
• Features: Rabbit resistant, handles wet soil, edible fiddleheads

Where to Plant: Use it to fill large, shady, moist areas: woodland gardens, the north side of a house, along streams and ponds, or in a rain garden. It tolerates black walnut and takes more sun if the soil stays moist, and if you harvest fiddleheads, take only a few from each well-established clump.

Companion Plants: Plant ostrich fern in a moist to wet, shady native bed where it can spread into a lush stand. Sanguinaria canadensis opens white bloodroot flowers at 15 to 25 cm in April and May, before the fronds unfurl. Gaultheria procumbens carpets drier edges at 10 to 15 cm with glossy leaves and red winter berries. Onoclea sensibilis adds sensitive fern fronds at 30 to 90 cm. Carex rosea fills in with a fine native sedge at 30 cm.

Plant Care: Plant it in rich, moist, humus-rich soil in part to full shade. It loves damp ground and even tolerates occasional flooding. In drier soil or more sun, the fronds can brown by midsummer, so water well during hot spells. A leaf mulch helps hold moisture. It spreads by underground runners that send up new crowns nearby. Dig out extra crowns in spring to control its spread or to share. Leave the brown fertile fronds standing for winter interest, and tidy the old foliage in fall or early spring.

History: Ostrich fern grows naturally across northern North America, Europe and Asia, and in Canada it's found in every province and territory. It's the source of the fiddleheads sold in spring markets, and its species name struthiopteris combines the Greek words for ostrich and fern, after the feather-like fronds.

Final Thoughts: Moist soil and some shade, and it fills a corner fast while deer and rabbits pass. UNLIKE THE BIRD, IT NEVER HIDES ITS HEAD.