Ostrich fern
Matteuccia struthiopteris · Aspleniaceae Popular
Tall, feathery fronds form an elegant green vase that gives height at the back of a shady bed. It needs steady moisture and browns early in dry summers.
- Size
- 4 ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around ostrich fern
The planner designed this bed around ostrich 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 354 that suit those conditions and its wet soil, and says below why ostrich fern stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Ostrich fern × 1, green leaves
- 2 Blue star creeper × 12, blue
- 3 Lungwort × 5, pink
- 4 Northern sea oats × 3, tan
- 5 Gray's sedge × 3, green
- 6 Celandine poppy × 8, yellow
- 7 Fawn lily 'White Beauty' × 12, white
- 8 Snowdrop × 5, white
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 4 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Gray's sedge (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A feature plant is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, spring to frost. They cover the 11 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The most in flower at one time is 3 kinds, from mid April. The scheme leans cool (blue and pink) and uses yellow for warmth, with tan, green and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Ostrich fern spreads aggressively. 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 ostrich fern goes in a border
At 4 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: specimen. A feature plant with a shape of its own. It stands alone with room around it, and repeats only at a distance.
Its tall shuttlecock shape gives a shady bed the height that few shade plants can. It runs in moist soil, so use it where a colony is welcome, not in a small, tidy bed.
- Height and a strong shape at the back of a damp, shady bed
- Naturalising along streams
- A green backdrop for flowering shade plants
What to plant with ostrich fern
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
- Astilbe: adds the flowers, late June to mid July; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- Bleeding heart: adds the flowers, early May to early June.
Choosing between it and a look-alike? Ostrich fern vs Cinnamon fern.
Questions about ostrich fern
Does ostrich fern need sun or shade?
Ostrich 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 moist to wet soil, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does ostrich fern grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 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 ostrich fern be planted?
3 ft (90 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 4 ft (120 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many ostrich fern plants do I need?
At 3 ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 4 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as one, with clear ground around it: a feature plant is seen as an object, and a group of them is a thicket.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is ostrich 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 ostrich fern?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
Will ostrich fern spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is high. Spreads strongly by underground runners in moist soil and can form large colonies. Plant it where it can roam, or remove the offsets each spring.
What does ostrich fern look like in winter?
Ostrich 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.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Fern
- Size
- 4 ft (120 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 ft (90 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Vase-shaped, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, moist to wet
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Aspleniaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern North America, Temp. Eurasia
- Stands up to
- Deer, wet soil, deep shade
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.