PlantFiles: Onoclea, Sensitive Fern, Bead Fern
Onoclea sensibilis

We dug up a few of these ferns from my grandparent's yard, and planted them under a pine tree in our front yard last year. This year, they popped up in mid-May. I really like this fern. To me, it is so nice because it has such a different pattern than other ferns.

Native to the central and eastern parts of the United States (except for the states of Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico).

This fern can be grown both wet and in a regular garden. I have it mixed with other ferns in a moist sandy soil that is a bit of a south slope in shade. It also grow into a wet non draining container. It tend to develops long shallow rhizomes and then grows from one edge, like iris but much quicker. This can result into its popping up all over the place. The name Sensitve Fern comes from books that said it is sensitive to frosts but I can't really see much of a difference compare to other ferns.

This occurs naturally by springs in our meadow. It is robust enough to compete effectively with colonies of mint and raspberries and withstand regular trampling by deer. It is quite handsome to me, but my mother always called it "ragweed fern" and thought it looked like ragweed : ). I also use the dried fertile fronds in winter arrangements, but the infertile greenery wilts when picked--perhaps thats why its called "sensitive" fern. Our colonies have wet feet all summer but thrive in bright sun.

This very pretty fern travels by underground root. Colonies will spring up in shady locations or full sun, but if continually cut down will eventually die off where cut and travel onward as long as they have abundant moisture.

This fern is wonderful in a woodland setting or at the perimeter of a field, but it does have an invasive nature and once in your garden, will travel and pop up all over - creating a nuisance. We have colonies of these that started in our hillside garden years ago, and when pulled, cut or generally weeded out, have traveled down now to the rocks at the base of the garden. If I dig down in the rocks slightly, I can find the long rootstock that keeps this traveler going. I almost hate to pull them as they are a very pretty fern.

Fronds are approximately 8" - 15" tall, a dark cinnamon brown, and branch at the end where they are covered by what looks like tiny beads. The fronds may be gathered in early spring and are generally dry when you cut them. They make wonderful accents for dried arrangements. I generally go out and hunt for these in the field next to my fence where they grow in abundance.

One of the nicest wild ferns in this area. It grows happily even in full sun if it has enough water, and large stands of them can be seen along roadside ditches.

I've transplanted this fern from the wild with great success, but one of my biggest surprises was the first one I ever relocated. It was a tiny little thing, only 3 or 4 inches tall....needless to say, it got a new home before the summer was through.

I like the fruit stalks with the spores for flower arrangements too. They have a lovely cinnamon color when they are mature.

This plant is comfortable and frequent enough up here in New England to leave its natural boggy habitat and grow happily in the woods.

I use the spore-bearing frond in dried flower arrangements.

This is a common fern in the pine savannahs of Louisiana and Mississippi. It's really quite elegant, both in the wild and in my garden.

This is a native fern here in Missouri, although not very commonly seen. It needs consistently moist soil to look good, but the rhizomes can withstand dry spells and will make new foliage when the rain returns. It does well in boggy places. I put some in a moist flower bed and just dug out buckets of it this fall. It makes runners all through other plants, so I recommend that you put it in a natural setting, not in a formal bed. It has a soft green color in the shade, more yellowish in full sun. It reaches heights of 30 inches with adequate moisture. The spores are located on separate, fertile fronds that appear in late summer and fall. I have seen a few plants that have come from spores here. The foliage is rather coarse, not fine like other ferns. The best use of this plant that I have seen is to use it behind and around the sides of a large wooden garden bench (Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis).