Deer Fern, Blechnum spicant

About Deer Fern (Blechnum spicant) 26 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Blechnum spicant is a species of fern within its own family (Blechnaceae) known by the common name Deer Fern. It is native to Europe and western North America. In California it is found primarily along the coast from Santa Cruz northward. It is found is damp, shaded forest areas such as Redwood Forest and Mixed Evergreen Forest. Like some other Blechnum species it has two types of leaves. The sterile leaves have flat, wavy-margined leaflets 5 to 8 millimeters wide and arch gracefully, while the fertile leaves stand upright and have much narrower leaflets, each with two thick rows of sori on the underside. It typically goes dormant in winter. This is a very popular garden fern that can be used in coastal southern California if given shade, water and not too much heat.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Fern

Size

2 - 3.5 ft tall
2 ft wide

Form

Upright, Fountain

Growth Rate

Moderate

Dormancy

Winter Deciduous

Fragrance

None

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 1 likely * ) SHOW ALL

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Landscaping Information

Sun

Shade, Part Shade

Moisture

Moderate - High

Summer Irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Nurseries

Carried by 26

Soil Drainage

Medium

Soil Description

Prefers rich, forest soil with well-decomposed organic component derived from decaying wood. For garden purposes add redwood compost to soil mix.

Common uses

Deer Resistant

Companion Plants

Use in a shaded, moist woodland garden with compatible trees and plants such as Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Firs (Abies sp.), Spruce (Picea sp.), and Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), other native ferns such as Giant Chain Fern (Woodwardia fimbriata), thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus), Salal (Gaultheria shallon), Blueberry (Vaccinium sp.), wild ginger (Asarum caudatum), and Elk's Clover (Aralia californica)

Maintenance

Cut back dead fronds in late winter or early spring before new growth emerges.

Sunset Zones?

4*, 5*, 6, 7, 14, 15, 16*, 17*, 18, 19, 24

Natural Setting

Site Type

Moist places in old growth forests, woodlands and wetlands below 3,000 ft.

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 28.9" - 115.0", Summer Precipitation: 0.29" - 3.43", Coldest Month: 39.8" - 50.0", Hottest Month: 58.0" - 72.5", Humidity: 0.01" - 21.03", Elevation: 9" - 4630"

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Deer Fern

Blechnum spicant

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Deer FernBlechnum spicant

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Deer Fern

Blechnum spicant