Fiddlehead Fern
Fiddlehead ferns are tightly coiled shoots resembling the scroll of a violin and are often used as a culinary delicacy. Their young, coiled fronds, such as the Ostrich type (Matteuccia struthiopteris), offer several benefits when landscaping projects. These unique and visually appealing plants have been admired for their charming appearance and practical uses in outdoor spaces.
Fiddlehead Fern is native to North America, northern Asia, and Europe. In North America, they are most commonly found in Eastern Canada, southern Alaska, and from Maine to Illinois. Matteuccia Struthiopteris gets its name from the crowns it develops in the spring. These crowns or fonds tend to resemble the heads of violins or feathers.
The Looks Of Fiddlehead Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris)
It is famous for its vase shape and tall curled fonds. On average, gardeners can expect them to grow between three and four feet tall and one foot wide. However, once well established, they can grow up to six feet tall and have a width of up to eight feet. They are found naturally in wooded areas that have rivers or streams. It is considered a deciduous perennial that grows upright. They don't develop flowers. Instead, the leaves are bright to medium green. The plant grows its fiddleheads in the spring, and they can reach heights of one and a half feet tall.
Where to Plant Fiddlehead Fern in Your Garden
They grow well in areas that lack full sun. Gardeners can enjoy planting them in shade gardens, along walls, and around trees and tall shrubs. When they develop their spore-bearing fronds in the summer, gardeners can dry them and use them in flower bouquets or arrangements in vases.
Fiddlehead Ferns Can Grow Several Inches A Day
It covers frogs and birds, especially robins, wrens, and wood thrushes, which tend to forage in them. These may also attract turtles, butterflies, and bees.
Fiddlehead Ferns Companion Plants
It grows well next to green ash, Virginia bluebells, wild ginger, swamp buttercup, common elderberry, golden Alexander, and wild blue phlox. It can also be planted under or near the American elm and silver maple tree. It makes beautiful additions to shade gardens and helps fill empty spaces under trees and around shrubs. It also has water features in any area that resemble its natural habitats.
Do fiddlehead ferns like sun or shade
Fiddlehead ferns require partial to fully shaded areas, a condition that makes them suitable for forested or shaded garden beds.
What are the characteristics of a fiddlehead fern?
These ferns are characterized by coiled fronds that bear some resemblance to scrolls of a musical instrument referred to as fiddle. It has bright green shoots that expand when growing.
How long do fiddleheads take to grow
Fiddleheads gradually develop within a week to two from shoots to fronds. Growth is very fast when the climate is wet and warm, and this usually happens during early spring.
What season do fiddlehead ferns grow?
Fiddleheads mainly thrive during the early months of spring. This is when their coiled fronds break through the ground and are harvested before they uncoil fully.
Why are they called fiddlehead ferns
The Fiddlehead fern gets its name from its appearance, as the young frond looks like the peg that is wound with a violin. Due to their unique shape and spirals with which they grow, they have been recognized by the name fiddlehead.