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Buy Comptonia peregrina

Also Known As

Comptonia aspenifolia
Sweet Fern

Plant type

shrub, perennial

size

H: 2'-4'
W: 4'-8'

planting zones

2a-9b

2 gallon bagged root ball | $31

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30 at Gossler Farms

1 gallon | $39

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Fewer than 21 at Forestfarm

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Comptonia peregrina plant details

Comptonia peregrina is a broadleaf deciduous perennial shrub with green foliage. In spring chartreuse and yellow flowers emerge. Grows well with sun - mostly shade and even moisture - low water. Drought tolerant once established. Adapts to various soil conditions. Does well in average, gritty, lean, rich, rocky and well-drained soil. A good option if you're seeking something for erosion control, seaside / salt tolerant and wind tolerant.

CHARACTERISTICS OF Comptonia peregrina

Plant type: perennial shrub
Plant family: myricaceae
Foliage: deciduous green
Mature size: 4 FT - 8 FT - wide, 2 FT - 4 FT - tall
Flowers: chartreuse and yellow blooms in spring
Uses: foliage plant, fragrant foliage, nitrogen fixing, spreading, textural

GROWING CONDITIONS for Comptonia peregrina

USDA Zones: 2a - 9b
Sun exposure: sun - mostly shade
Watering frequency: even moisture - low
Resistant to: deer and rabbit, erosion, seaside / salt and wind
Soil needs: average, gritty, lean, rich, rocky and well-drained

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Nursery contributed plant descriptions

Sweet fern. Isn't really a fern but just the common name. This extraordinarily hardy shrub comes from the prairies of Canada. The plant has narrow leaves that have deeply indented margins. The foliage is wonderfully scented in spring. The plant is a very adaptable to dry harsh conditions and will get 3'-4' and slowly form a thicket.

By: Gossler Farms

The attractive and highly aromatic fern-like foliage of this charming Eastern United States native gives off a wonderful spicy scent when crushed. Growing 2-5' high and 8' wide or more forming dense colonies, small green-yellow flowers in spring give way to small edible nutlets, in fall the leaves turn coppery-brown and persist well into winter. A nitrogen-fixing plant that is very adaptable thriving in infertile and dry gravely soils, making it an excellent choice for difficult spots, also excellent for stabilizing slopes and embankments; sweet fern is a larval host plant for the Grey Hairstreak Butterfly. S-PSh/M-D-GDr

By: Forestfarm

Sweet Fern is a medium sized shrub that gets its name for its sweet smell when touched and its frond-like leaves that make this plant look like a tree fern. Sweet fern plants produce suckers from the roots to form colonies so is best suited to large gardens or for growing in containers. They are tolerant of a wide variety of soils and are drought tolerant once established, they also rarely need pruning or care so are an excellent choice for a low maintenance area. Like pea and bean plants, Sweet Fern fixes its own nitrogen so doesn't need regular fertilizer. It is native throughout the eastern United States.

By: Red Panda Nursery

Comptonia peregrina, commonly known as sweet fern, is not a fern at all but has fragrant, lustrous, fern-like foliage on a super hardy shrub that loves terrible, infertile soils. It is an Eastern North American native plant 2-4 feet tall that is nitrogen fixing, drought tolerant, and will form colonies. Easily grown in a wide range of soils but difficult to propagate and resentful of transplant, it is uncommon in cultivation. Insignificant yellow flowers in April and May followed by burr-like nutlets. Prefers sandy, acidic loams with medium water.

By: Phoenix Perennials and Specialty Plants Ltd.

Evergreen, Comptonia peregrina has fern-like leaves that also smell sweetly of fern. It has an exotic look but is eminently useful as a bank stabilizer or a colonizer in areas of very poor soil. The yellowish-green spring flowers don't amount to much, but the nutlets that they give way to are interesting in combination with its unusual foliage. It comes from poor, gravelly infertile soils of eastern North America. 1-3' tall Minimum temperature: -50 °F

By: Dancing Oaks Nursery

Not a true fern, this low growing shrub does best in sandy soils, from well-drained dry sites to the edges of marshes. Sweet Fern (Comptonia peregrina) grows in full sun to light shade, producing fern-like leaves that have a pleasant fragrance when crushed, hence the name. Often forms large colonies, so give this plant some room. Hardy to Zones 2 - 6.