Champion's wood fern
Dryopteris championii · Polypodiaceae
Glossy, dark, leathery fronds that stay upright and fresh through the whole winter. New growth comes late, silvery green and hairy.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 9
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around champion's wood fern
The planner designed this bed around champion's wood 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 champion's wood fern stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Champion's wood fern × 3, dark green leaves
- 2 Blue star creeper × 18, blue
- 3 Astilbe 'Sprite' × 8, pink
- 4 Northern sea oats × 3, tan
- 5 Korean feather reed grass × 1, pink
- 6 Red baneberry × 3, white
- 7 Snowdrop × 6, white
- 8 Grecian windflower × 12, blue
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
Why here
- At the back. At 2½ ft it is seen over red baneberry (24 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to Korean feather reed grass (4 ft) and northern sea oats (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 7 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. A cool scheme: blue, pink, tan and white. Korean feather reed grass and northern sea oats anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Red baneberry is highly poisonous to people, dogs, cats and horses. Northern sea oats spreads aggressively.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where champion's wood fern goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Among the best evergreen ferns for winter, when most others lie flat. It is slow to establish and then very handsome.
- Evergreen fronds through winter
- Woodland structure
- Underplanting shrubs
What to plant with champion's wood fern
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Lenten rose: adds the flowers, late March to early May; bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Sweet box: adds the flowers, early February to late March; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
- Hosta: bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about champion's wood fern
Does champion's wood fern need sun or shade?
Champion's wood 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 wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does champion's wood fern grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 9. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should champion's wood fern be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many champion's wood fern plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is there a native plant like champion's wood fern?
Champion's wood fern is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Silvery glade fern: the same job in a bed; 6 in taller, not evergreen.
- Evergreen wood fern: the same job in a bed and the same size; fine leaves, not medium.
- Braun's holly fern: the same job in a bed; 6 in shorter, not evergreen.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What does champion's wood fern look like in winter?
Champion's wood fern keeps its dark green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone. It is grown for evergreen fronds through winter as well.
More Dryopteris
- Autumn fern Dryopteris erythrosora
- Autumn fern 'Brilliance' Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance'
- Dixie wood fern Dryopteris x australis
- Evergreen wood fern Dryopteris intermedia
- Golden-scaled male fern Dryopteris affinis
- Goldie's wood fern Dryopteris goldiana
- Log fern Dryopteris celsa
- Male fern Dryopteris filix-mas
- Marginal wood fern Dryopteris marginalis
- Southern wood fern Dryopteris ludoviciana
- Wallich's wood fern Dryopteris wallichiana
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Fern
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Medium texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 9
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Polypodiaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. 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.