Re: best plants this year
- Subject: Re: [SG] best plants this year
- From: N* S*
- Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2001 09:40:35 -0400
If you can water it well through its first season, male fern (Dryopteris
filix-mas) can tolerate both deep shade and drought. I believe it's native
to the West coast, as well as elsewhere. I have a cultivar called something
like 'Robusta' that I got from Fancy Fronds in Washington that's now
enormous--maybe four feet wide and three feet high. It's in a dank, dark and
neglected corner. (Took a few years for it to become noticeable, though.)
There are many other interesting cultivars, including 'Grandiceps', which
has somewhat narrow fronds and a more graceful appearance. I think a group
of any of these would be a knockout and if you have fairly warm winters, it
would be evergreen.
Nancy S. (NYC, zone 6B)
>Lucy, it's not really a fern, but looks like one: Sweet Cicely. Friends
>who live in fern-unfriendly areas grow Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis
>odorata). Your local nurseries may have plants. It will self-seed, so
>watch out for seeds turning brown if you don't want new plants. I'd be
>quite sure you want it where you plant it, though. I've heard the root can
>grow large. Leaves, seeds and root are edible, anise-flavored. Margaret L
>
>
>>I'm looking for a dryland fern that doesn't go summer dormant,
>>for the side of the house where the ground is in fairly deep
>>shade: the violets are pretty happy there but I'd like something
>>else to share the space.
>>
>>There are a lot of California natives that tolerate drought, but
>>the way they do it is to go dormant in summer, and I would like
>>to have some things blooming and flourishing at that time!
>>
>>Lucy
>
