Wallich's wood fern
Dryopteris wallichiana · Polypodiaceae
A tall shuttlecock of fronds that unfurl golden-green in spring, on stalks covered in shaggy, dark brown-black scales.
- Size
- 3½ ft tall, 3 ft wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Specimen
A bed built around wallich's wood fern
The planner designed this bed around wallich'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 wallich's wood fern stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Wallich's wood fern × 1, chartreuse leaves
- 2 Moor grass 'Greenlee' × 6, tan
- 3 Leadwort × 13, blue
- 4 Solomon's seal × 3, white
- 5 Blue-stemmed goldenrod × 5, yellow
- 6 Lenten rose × 3, pink
- 7 Hardy cyclamen × 7, pink
- 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.
- A classic partner for Lenten rose. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3½ 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 blue-stemmed goldenrod (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, into winter. They cover the six weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 7 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Something is in flower for 37 weeks, from early February to mid October. Hardy cyclamen stands beside Lenten rose, a proven pairing.
The planner's own design check: 16 Excellent, 1 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 wallich's wood fern goes in a border
At 3½ 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.
The spring unfurling is among the finest sights in a woodland garden: yellow-green against near-black. A stately, upright fern for a sheltered place.
- A specimen fern
- Spring drama in the woodland garden
- Vertical form among mounding plants
What to plant with wallich's wood 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; happy in the same moist soil.
- 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.
- Japanese forest grass: low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about wallich's wood fern
Does wallich's wood fern need sun or shade?
Wallich'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 wallich's 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 wallich's wood fern be planted?
2½ ft (75 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 3 ft (90 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3½ ft (110 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many wallich's wood fern plants do I need?
At 2½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 2 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 5 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 6 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 wallich's 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 wallich's wood 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.
What does wallich's wood fern look like in winter?
Wallich's 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
- Southern wood fern Dryopteris ludoviciana
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Fern
- Size
- 3½ ft (110 cm) tall, 3 ft (90 cm) wide
- Plant
- 2½ ft (75 cm) apart
- Height class
- Moderately tall (3 to 4 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Medium texture, semi-evergreen; chartreuse, dark green
- Shape
- Vase-shaped, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Polypodiaceae
- Comes from
- Himalayas, Hawaii, Mexico and Jamaica
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits
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.