Marginal Woodfern

• You'll find the marginal woodfern (D. marginalis), also called leather woodfern and evergreen woodfern, growing wild throughout most of the eastern United States. The bluish-green fronds are 18 to 24 inches long and doubly pinnate, meaning the leaf has small leaflets attached to a central rib and each leaflet is itself made up of tiny leaflets. The fern forms a gently arching, vase shape. Grow marginal woodfern in moist, well-drained, rich soil in partial to full shade. It's hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zones 4 through 9.
  
  

Crested Woodfern

• Native to the northern tier of states and lower Canada, the crested woodfern (D. cristata) also is found along the East Coast. Known also as the narrow swamp fern, that common name gives a clue to its preferred locations: marshes, bogs and swamps. Crested woodfern's narrow fronds grow 1 to 3 feet long. The fertile fronds stay stiff and erect and are deciduous, while the sterile fronds arch gently and are evergreen. In the home garden, site crested woodferns in moist, rich soil in sun or shade. They're hardy in Zones 3 through 7.
  
  

Spreading Woodfern

• One of the toughest of the woodferns, the spreading woodfern (D. expansa) is native in the upper Midwest and most of Canada and Greenland, as well as from Alaska to California. It grows best in moist, cool woods, on rocky slopes and near stream banks. Spreading woodfern is hardy to -40 degrees Fahrenheit, or Zone 2b.
  
  

Other Woodferns

• Goldie's woodfern (D. goldiana), also called the giant woodfern, is a beautiful but uncommon plant, with 4-foot fronds tipped in yellow. It's native to eastern North America. The toothed or spinulose woodfern (D. carthusiana) grows about 2 feet tall and is a common fern of the forests, bogs and cliffs throughout most of North America, except for the Southwest. The intermediate woodfern (D. intermedia) is another abundant woodland fern, most commonly found on the East Coast.