Dryopteris clintoniana

About this cultivar:

Dryopteris clintoniana bears no relation to Bill and Hillary, the specific epithet honors George William Clinton (1807-1885), founder and developer of the Clinton Herbarium in Buffalo, New York. It is a little-known naturally occurring fertile hexaploid (six sets of chromosomes) fern hybrid...a cross of Dryopteris goldiana and Dryopteris cristata. Dryopteris clintoniana makes a clump of dark green evergreen foliage. Anything from slightly moist to average woodland garden conditions will make your Dryopteris x clintoniana happy.

• Position: Full shade, partial shade
• Soil: Almost any soil, grows well in Ballyrobert
• Flowers: -
• Other features: Grows well in Ballyrobert, Woodland Plant, Dappled Shade or Full Shade Loving, Interesting Foliage or Fruit
• Hardiness: Fully hardy - grows well in Ballyrobert!
• Habit: Tufted, Clump forming
• Foliage: Evergreen
• Height: 60 - 90 cm (2 - 3 ft)
• Spread: 45 - 75 cm (1.5 - 2.5 ft)
• Time to full growth: 5 to 10 years
• Plant type: Herbaceous Perennial, fern
• Colour: Green
• Goes well with: Shade

About this genus:

Dryopteris is a fern genus of 225 species from around the world that give us the majority of our great garden ferns. The genus name comes from the Greek words drys (tree) and pteris (fern) in possible reference to this fern's typical habitat in woodland areas. It is a good idea to put Dryopteris (male ferns) near Athyriums (lady ferns) for reasons that (I hope) are obvious. 

Dryopteris species come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Most gardeners assume that all ferns are green but Dryopteris species have variation in that regard - which ironically makes many people think they a dying or drying out! - once a week I have a customer telling me they need watered! The new growth on some species may be copper or cinnamon or even black. 

Like most garden ferns, Dryopteris plants prefer light shade, almost full shade. Soil wise - anything that isn't too extreme. How to use them? Well... try shady areas!