Broad beech fern
Phegopteris hexagonoptera · Aspleniaceae
Broad, triangular, soft green fronds, tilted back on their stalks, with the lowest pair of leaflets pointing down like a moustache.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around broad beech fern
The planner designed this bed around broad beech fern when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why broad beech fern stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Broad beech fern × 3, green leaves
- 2 Blue star creeper × 8, blue
- 3 Lungwort 'Raspberry Splash' × 5, pink
- 4 Turtlehead 'Hot Lips' × 5, pink
- 5 Japanese meadowsweet × 3, pink
- 6 White bleeding heart × 1, white
- 7 Snowdrop × 7, white
- 8 Double snowdrop × 12, white
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
Why here
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, spring to frost. They cover the 9 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The flowers stay on the cool side of the palette: blue, pink and white. Blue star creeper, fine in leaf, stands next to bold-leaved Japanese meadowsweet, and each shows the other off.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where broad beech fern goes in a border
At 18 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
A native woodland fern that spreads into a loose, even groundcover in leafy, acid soil. The triangular fronds give a different outline from the usual shuttlecocks.
- Native groundcover in woodland
- Under deciduous trees
- Contrast with upright ferns
What to plant with broad beech fern
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Wild ginger: bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Foamflower: adds the flowers, late April to late May; low enough (10 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- White trillium: adds the flowers, mid April to mid May; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about broad beech fern
Does broad beech fern need sun or shade?
Broad beech fern grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light). It is one of the few that also put up with deep shade.
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does broad beech fern grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should broad beech fern be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many broad beech fern plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is broad beech fern poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat broad beech fern?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
Will broad beech fern spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by creeping rhizomes into a colony in moist, leafy soil.
What does broad beech fern look like in winter?
Broad beech fern dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Phegopteris
- Japanese beech fern Phegopteris decursive-pinnata
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Fern
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Arching, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Aspleniaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern Canada and U.S.A
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, heat, wet soil, deep shade
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.