My most beloved Swamp Titi + Sensitive Fern bog.

Aug. 7, 2023

Sensitive Fern, Onoclea sensibilis

Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) is one of our most beloved native plants.

I grew up with sensitive fern surrounding me.

Amongst our Poplar and Magnolia woods and winding sandy creeks, there are pockets of Swamp Tiiti stands with mass expanses of Sensitive Fern beneath. When we find ourselves blessed by a warm season breeze, the ferns careen together like a subtle and singular green wave under a canopy of twisted cinnamon-hued Titi branches.

Perhaps my most favorite sight - at the home where I grew up and romped the woods - is this magical symbiosis of these two plants, our Sensitive Fern + Swamp Titi. They complement each other utterly, teaching me about the habitats in which they choose to survive and thrive. This is another reminder that often the most successful landscapes have never been touched by the hand of man.

In their native settings they are often found in drying bogs or the wet banks of quiet, trickling streams, like the ones I know and describe above. In the manmade landscape setting we find they are not very picky. They like their shade yet we see them thrive even with direct morning sun. We find they are perfect for native rain gardens, or aesthetically do well in our more tropical shadegardens, alongside architecturally leafed tropicals and pops of bold color. They are reliable and create tidy colonies.

These ferns receive their nickname “Sensitive Fern” due to their sensitivity to the first frosts of the season. Another sweet name for these ferns is “Bead Fern” due to the beaded nature of the ferns stalks.

-Jess

Sensitive fern in a tropical shade garden