Blechnum spicant
(Hard Fern)

Family - Blechnaceae
Category - Fern
Origin - Temperate Northern Hemisphere
Season of Interest - Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
Hardiness - H6
Height - 30cm or more
Width - 45cm or more
Location - The Stumpery

Description: An Evergreen, rhizomatous fern with a tufted habit. Glossy dark green, lanceolate fronds are pinnate and held in basal rosettes. This fern produces two different types of fronds. The sterile (non-spore bearing) fronds are more showy with broader, larger pinnae (leaflets) that are oblong in shape. The fertile (spore-bearing) fronds are taller and produced from the centre of the rosette. These fronds are upright and have much narrower, linear pinnae that are well-spaced. Linear sori are held on the undersides of the fertile fronds.

Award of Garden Merit (AGM).

Flower:

Linear sori (spore-bearing structures) are held on the undersides of the upright, fertile fronds.

Foliage:

Glossy dark green, lanceolate fronds are pinnate and held in basal rosettes. This fern produces two types of fronds. The sterile fronds have a leathery texture and are more conspicuous. They have broader, larger pinnae (leaflets) that are oblong in shape. The fertile fronds are produced from the centre of the rosette and are taller. These fronds are upright with narrow, linear and well-spaced pinnae.

Foliage Senescence: Evergreen

Foliage Shape: Pinnate fronds with oblong to linear pinnae

Propagation:

Division, spores.

Cultivation:

Best in a shady position in fertile, moisture-retentive soil that is well-drained. Blechnum spicant prefers a soil that is humus-rich and acidic.