Southern wood fern
Dryopteris ludoviciana · Dryopteridaceae
Lustrous, dark green, leathery fronds, narrow at the top where the spores are carried, in a tall, upright clump.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around southern wood fern
The planner designed this bed around southern 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 354 that suit those conditions and its wet soil, and says below why southern wood fern stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Southern wood fern × 3, dark green leaves
- 2 Lingonberry × 14, pink
- 3 English primrose × 8, yellow
- 4 Foxglove × 1, purple
- 5 Bleeding heart × 1, white
- 6 Northern sea oats × 5, tan
- 7 Double snowdrop × 12, white
- 8 Fumewort × 12, red
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 3½ ft it is among the tallest plants 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 foxglove (4 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, into winter. They cover the 12 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 4 of the 5 groups (80%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Double snowdrop is the first into flower, in early February, and northern sea oats the last to finish, in mid September. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 49% of the visual weight and the right half 51%.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 4 Good, 2 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Foxglove 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 southern wood fern goes in a border
At 3½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is moderately tall (3 to 4 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A native of southern swamps that takes heat, humidity and wet soil. In the South it is evergreen, and the most reliable large fern.
- Southern shade gardens
- Wet soil
- Evergreen structure in mild climates
What to plant with southern wood fern
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Cardinal flower: adds the flowers, late July to mid September; happy in the same wet soil.
- Virginia sweetspire: adds the flowers, early June to early July.
- Sensitive fern: bold leaves against its medium ones; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same wet soil.
Questions about southern wood fern
Does southern wood fern need sun or shade?
Southern 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 is one of the few that also put up with deep shade.
It wants moist to wet soil, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does southern wood fern grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 9. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should southern 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 3½ ft (100 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many southern 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 southern wood 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 southern wood 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.
What does southern wood fern look like in winter?
Southern wood fern holds some of its leaves into winter, more in a mild year or a sheltered spot, and they look tired by March. Cut the old ones off as new growth starts.
More Dryopteris
- Autumn fern Dryopteris erythrosora
- Autumn fern 'Brilliance' Dryopteris erythrosora 'Brilliance'
- Champion's wood fern Dryopteris championii
- 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
- Wallich's wood fern Dryopteris wallichiana
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Fern
- Size
- 3½ ft (100 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, moist to wet
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Dryopteridaceae
- Comes from
- Southeastern U.S.A
- Stands up to
- Deer, 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.