Home » Plants & Animals » Shade Gardening » Planting Under Trees - Part 11

Planting Under Trees - Part 11

© Marge Talt

 This photo was taken of my main clump of maidenhairs, in another part of the garden, but it illustrates the extraordinary color of the unfolding fronds - sort of a translucent puce. This lasts only a few magic days, during which the fronds are incredibly fragile and will break off if you look at them sideways.

 In a short time, the stems (or stipe, in fern talk) starts to darken as the fronds begin to unfurl and show color. Once the blade (leaf) is fully out, the stems turn black, making a grand contrast to the chartreuse green of the new fronds. This color changes to a dark, almost matte, olive green as the season progresses. By then, however, the form is the primary interest and remains so until they are cut down by hard frost.

 There are numerous species of maidenhair fern, most are tropical and used for houseplants. This one, however, is hardy as far north as USDA zone 3. It really thrives in partial to medium shade and moist soil, where the rhizomes creep slowly just beneath the soil surface, expanding the clump in diameter. Supposedly, this is an easy genus from spore, though I've never tried it, and can be divided in spring.

 The clump at the base of the tree persists, but does not expand. I've considered moving it, but it is now so intertwined in huge ivy roots, that I fear I'd end up killing it, so I leave it.

 A Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) - I think they'll grow anywhere - has put itself to the right foreground between the maidenhair and one of the special plants for dry shade that's doing quite nicely, Epimedium x rubrum.

Epimedium x rubrum

 Epimedium are marvelous plants for the shady garden. Also, something I didn't know until I did a web search on the name, they appear to form a part of several pill and capsule formulas credited with amazing effects on the male sex drive. Learn something new every day!

 Also known as Barrenwort, or Bishop's Hat or Mitre Epimedium belong to the family Berberidaceae, the same as Barberry shrubs. So far, my deer herd has not touched mine, another plus for those of us who garden with Bambi. This genus is often classed as a "groundcover". Perhaps it spreads more rapidly in the rich, moist soil it prefers, but based on the slow rate of spread in my garden, I don't consider it a groundcovering plant. It is tolerant of dry soil, root competition and a lot of shade, but will also grow in partial shade.