Saturday, May 23, 2009

Hayscented Fern

Hayscented Fern is spreading rapidly across the upper terrace this spring since the brush was cut and the terrace raked. That's good, because we have nothing planned for that terrace at the moment. This particular fern is known as a native invasive species in areas with high deer population (like Shelton) because the deer tend to eat everything but the fern, allowing it to spread. It's also unusual in that it spreads by runners. More and more you can find large swaths of forest blanketed with hayscented fern.
Well, anyways, it IS native, so we'll just let it take over the terrace for now. There's some Black Swallowwort coming in as well -- that has to go!
Posted by Teresa at 7:02 PM

2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 12, 2009 at 9:10 AM

    You may never see that terrace again! Here in Bolton, CT, hay-scented fern has overrun an entire hillside of mixed hybrid and wild daylilies underplanted with myrtle, is flourishing in the mixed border, and has just appeared next to the rhubarb. Will the fern run its course in a year or two, or is this the future?
    NEB

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  2. AnonymousJuly 2, 2010 at 1:16 PM

    This fern takes advantage of the deer lopping off any seedlings that can rise above it. It then crowds out everything else. It is extremely deer-resistant. Large acreages in Pennsylvania and elsewhere have been claimed by the hay-scented fern, blanketing the forest floor. Needless to say, there will be no regeneration of those forests.

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