Wednesday, January 26

The cinnamon fern is a plant that is native to the Americas and eastern Asia, where it can still be found growing wild in swamps, marshes, and moist woodlands, where it prefers slightly acidic soils. The vibrant emerald green sterile fronds are very graceful in shape and can grow to a height of two to three feet and spread to a width that matches their height. The fertile fronds appear in a beautiful green color in early spring then quickly turn a unique, bright cinnamon brown color. The plant prefers full to partial shade, but can tolerate full sun if sufficient moisture is provided. This plant spreads very slowly, but is extremely hearty once it becomes established, and often grows in large clumps. Despite the fact that the plant spreads slowly, the individual plants are extremely long-lived and will offer many growing seasons to the horticulturist.

This fern is one of the favorites when it comes to landscaping use in wet areas, especially in those places where a native plant is more desirable than one that may eventually become and invasive species, and its slow spreading nature makes it perfect as a companion plant for other wetlands and moist forest species. When planted as part of a natural area landscaping project the fern affords excellent ground cover and the emerald green and cinnamon brown color of the fronds make the plant highly decorative and it is the perfect backdrop for more showy flowering plants. The cinnamon fern provides excellent seasonal cover for practically all the smaller varieties of ground frequenting birds, and can be a real asset if planted next to the bird feeder, and hummingbirds use the fine, hairy fibers from the stems of these ferns to line their nests. In practically any project where a hearty native fern is needed there is no better choice than the cinnamon fern.