Hay-scented Fern Dennstaedtia Punctilobula 1 Gal

Best grown in moist, rich, humusy, acidic, medium moisture loams in part shade to full shade. With consistent moisture, it tolerates full sun. Also tolerates a wide range of soils, including poor rocky soils and, once well established, dry soils. Also tolerates full shade. Spreads aggresively by rhizomes to form colonies.

Dennstaedtia punctilobula is commonly called hay-scented fern as the fronds release a fragrance reminiscent of fresh mown hay when brushed with a hand, crushed or bruised. It is a deciduous fern that is native to open woods and wooded banks in the eastern and midwestern U.S. It typically grows to 2’ tall and features lacy, narrow-triangular, erect to arching, yellowish green fronds (to 30” long). Fronds turn yellow in fall. Marginal sori are surrounded by cup-shaped indusia, hence the sometimes used common name of cup fern for plants in the genus Dennstaedtia.