One of our frustrations in introducing little-known plants is that they often don’t sell well, despite being superb garden plants. One such is Dryopteris stenolepis. Dryopteris stenolepis is a beautifully symmetrical evergreen, 18″ tall x 3′ wide clumping fern that hails from streamside slopes at 2,000′-7,000′ from India and Nepal and into southern China and Taiwan. Below is a patch in the garden this week in early February. Hardiness is Zone 7b-9b, at least.
Being “little known” is not the issue Tony. Introducing ferns, or plants in general, that are not hardy in zones less than 7a is the cause of your frustration.
“Little known” provides an incentive to purchase a plant, cold hardiness clinches the deal!
Ah yes. It’s actually part of a larger plot to entice gardeners move further south. In actuality, approximately 192 million people live in Zones 3-6, and another 139 million people reside from Zone 7-10. Surely, out of that number, more people would be willing to try more little-known plants.
I share your sentiment; I wish more people would buy new and unusual plants. But as ferns go, this one is pretty generic looking. For those of us with limited space and a limited budget, it’s just not interesting enough.