Matteuccia struthiopteris
Growing Information
• Plant Type: Perennial
• Sunlight: Shade, part shade
• Soils: Moist, rich
• Bloom Time: Non-flowering
• Size: Size: 2-3 feet in height; 2-4 foot spread
Ostrich Fern fronds look like ostrich feathers and provide a striking bright green display as a background planting. The tall size of this fern allows use as a foundation planting on the northern side. With rich moist soils in a shady location, it can form a colony. Fiddleheads are edible. Deer resistant.
Garden Companions
Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), Cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum), Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum), Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina), Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis)
Nature Benefits
• Larval host for several moth species.
• Fiddleheads offer food for herbivores.
Native Habitat
Occurs in rich woods, swamps, river or lake shores.
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