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Buy Blechnum spicant

Also Known As

  • Struthiopteris spicant
  • Deer Fern
  • Northwestern Deer Fern

Plant type

fern

size

  • H: 1'-2'
  • W: 2'-3'

planting zones

  • 6a-9b

3" | $13

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Fewer than 20 at Secret Garden Growers

1 gallon bagged root ball | $19

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30 at Gossler Farms

2 inch wide, 4-6 inch deep tube | $15.95

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77 at Forestfarm

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Blechnum spicant plant details

Blechnum spicant is an evergreen fern with green foliage. Features glossy texture. Grows well with bright shade - shade and even moisture - regular water. Does well in average, clay, rich and well-drained soil. A good option if you're seeking something humidity tolerant and verticillium wilt resistant.

CHARACTERISTICS OF Blechnum spicant

Plant type: fern
Plant family: blechnaceae
Foliage: evergreen green
Mature size: 2 FT - 3 FT - wide, 1 FT - 2 FT - tall
Uses: border plant, container plant, rock garden, textural, woodland garden, year round interest

GROWING CONDITIONS for Blechnum spicant

USDA Zones: 6a - 9b
Sun exposure: bright shade - shade
Watering frequency: even moisture - regular
Resistant to: deer and rabbit, humidity and verticillium wilt
Soil needs: average, clay, rich and well-drained

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Nursery contributed plant descriptions

Our northwestern deer fern grows in the Cascades and Coast Range. This evergreen has new fronds that are vertical and the older fronds are horizontal on the ground. This wonderful fern has black stems with deep green foliage. Beautiful plants.
This delightful fern of great character owes much of its interest to the production of both fertile and barren fronds, both are stiff leathery and dark green ; the 1-2' sterile fronds form a low rosette around the 1-3' upright fertile ones, native to the wet coniferous forests and stream banks of Western North America. Sh/M/acid
(DEER FERN) Charming Pacific Northwest native fern, evergreen 2’ high and wide...not fussy about soil. Grows in light to deep shade with almost no maintenance (cut old fronds back in early spring for best appearance)...regular to occasional water. Deer resistant. A Secret Garden Rave and Great Plant Pick! USDA Z5-9
Deer Ferns form dense clumps of evergreen fronds that lay very low to the ground with well rounded edges. In the late spring a set of tall fertile fronds emerge and stay upright throughout the summer, making this one of the most naturally upright fern species. The tall fertile fronds fade in the fall and the clump returns to its flat, groundcover-like form for the winter. The Deer Fern is native to the Pacific Northwest and can be seen in the mountains not far from our nursery. It thrives in moist locations with afternoon shade and can often be found growing near Western Sword Ferns. This species is easy to identify because of its uniquely rounded foliage which makes it very attractive where it can be enjoyed up close.
Narrow, lance-shaped evergreen fronds characterize the Deer Fern. Blechnum spicant forms a rosette of glossy, dark green fronds. Very resilient plant. Native plant of the Pacific Northwest. Ferns thrive in neutral to acidic, loose, richly organic soil. Excellent for mass plantings, rock gardens, containers, in woodlands and naturalized landscapes.
Underutilized evergreen native fern which produces upright fertile (spore producing) fronds and arching sterile fronds, which add to its unique form and presence in the shade garden. Grows 2' to 2'.
Evergreen, compact fern with lance shaped dark green fronds and creeping rhizomes.
Native to Northwest shady woodlands, the deer fern has an elegant habit: Sterile fronds form a flattened rosette in bright green, and narrower, tall, fertile fronds cluster in the center and expire at summer's end. The flatter, wider, rosette remains evergreen to grace winter gardens. 2' tall and wide. Minimum temperature: -20°F
Deer fern has two types of fronds, vegetative and reproductive. The vegetative fronds form an attractive, evergreen rosette of broadly spreading, glossy fronds that hug the ground. Later in the season a set of finer textured, vertical, spore-bearing fronds arise from the centre of this rosette. BC is blessed with beautiful native ferns among which deer fern must surely be included.
Evergreen, dark stipe, leathery dark green mature fronds Zone 5-9. 8"-18", Japan, part shade-shade, moist, well drained
Large, flat rosette of elegant dark green, leathery & stiff dark green fronds; can tolerate full sun in the Pacific Northwest. Plant in full sun to full shade & well drained, acidic, moist soil. Height: 16” to 36”. Zones 5 to 8. Evergreen.
Yes!! We finally have something to offer all you Pteridomaniacs out there (that's FERN-lovers, for all of you wondering) & this should make the endemiphytomaniacs (which is a word I just made up for you native-plant-aholics) pretty pleased, too! Named "Deer Fern" because native peoples observed deer using the plant medicinally rubbing their sore antler stubs on its fronds to help them heal. Golly, WHAT ELSE do the deer know? Two frond types can be found on the plant ? the tall, ladder like fronds that grow upright from the center of the plant are fertile & deciduous. The others are low-lying & evergreen. A little sun is fine, but ferns are made for the shade! Deep shade, even. Rich, humus-ey soil, in a cool moist spot should keep this fern happiest, but once established, DRY SHADE is just fine. Height ranges from 8-20" depending on the season, & the width of a mature clump is around 3'. Range includes California & reaches North all the way to Alaska.
Evergreen. A native to the Northwest, occurring naturally in forests and on rock ledges. Produces sterile fronds that are narrow, spreading and 1-3' tall, and fertile fronds that are stiff and upright with widely spaced leaflets.

By: Greer Gardens Inc.

A striking northwest native with two different kinds of fronds: broad sterile ones that lay prostrate and fertile ones that are narrower and stand gracefully erect. Both are a glossy deep green and persist year round. AGM winner.

Gardening facts about Blechnum spicant plant

How to Grow Blechnum spicant

  • Sun Exposure

    • bright shade - shade
  • Water Needs

    • even moisture - regular
  • Soil Needs

    • clay
    • average
    • well-drained
    • rich
  • Special Situation

    • humidity tolerant
    • verticillium wilt resistant

Features

  • Foliage Color

    • green
  • Wildlife

    • deer resistant
    • rabbit resistant
  • Foliage Season

    • evergreen
  • Texture

    • glossy
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