Emerging beautifully from its winter slumber is the elegant native fern, Dryopteris x australis. The 4′ tall clumps look superb all through the heat of summer. Despite the “down under” sounding specific epithet, “australis” actually means “from the south”, referring to its’ natural range from from Virginia to Arkansas, where it is found in moist to swampy forests. In the garden, we have found it to also thrive in regular garden soil and grow beautifully in half-day full sun. Although usually described as evergreen, we consider it tardily deciduous, as the old foliage falls over in late winter. Because it is a natural hybrid between Dryopteris celsa and Dryopteris ludoviciana, its spores are not viable, so it can only be propagated by clump division or tissue culture. Hardiness Zone 5a-9b.
