Fern Male

Fern Male, Dryopteris Filix Mas, is a clump forming fern found throughout North America and the Pacific Northwest. It has an upright habit and reaches 2.5 feet in height and width with a single crown on each rootstock. The crown of this fern produces multiple plants, so divide the male fern regularly to increase your plants and to keep the symmetry, or allow it to become a large clump of many plants. Either way, the fern provides a grand statement in the woodland garden. It prefers shade to bright shade and moist, fertile, acidic soil. Male Fern is one of the most common ferns of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. It favors damp shaded areas and is common in the understory of woodlands, but is also found in shady places on hedge banks and rocks.