Plant Details

Great Plant Picks - This is one of our most useful native ferns and a staple in the Northwest garden. Sword fern is tolerant of a wide range of soil types and sun exposures, from wet to dry, sun to shade. It is one of the few plants that will tolerate dry shade under the dense growth of Douglas firs and western red cedars. Sword fern is evergreen and forms a shapely, arching mound. It is effective as a specimen and equally beautiful massed as a tall groundcover. Sword ferns look terrific with Smilacina racemosa (FALSE SOLOMON'S SEAL), Lathyrus vernus (spring vetchling), Asarum europaeum (European wild ginger) and rhododendrons. Sword fern grows best in light to deep shade, but will grow in full sun if watered regularly in summer. Plant in well-drained, humus-rich soil, and water occasionally during dry periods; however, these ferns will tolerate poorer soil and dry conditions once established. Plants that are flourishing can be cut back to the ground in late winter. Plants that are growing in poor or dry soil should only be cut back about every three years.