Fall Friends For Ferns?
Everybody knows that ferns can make good companions for spring ephemerals, like Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica).
But what about in late summer, when some ferns can turn out to be somewhat ephemeral themselves? For example, there are some tallish ferns (2 to 3 feet) in the border along our south-facing back porch. Sorry, but I don’t know the species.
But that doesn’t matter now. What matters is that at some point in August these ferns tend to look pretty shabby and threadbare. I’ve been trying to find a plant that will fill in and look fresh as the ferns decay. That’s why I planted Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) in this border back in May.
(Taxonomic note: Mistflower used to be Eupatorium coelestinum, in the same genus with Joe Pye Weeds. But then the taxonomists, pursuant to their powers under the Taxonomist Full Employment Act, broke up the Eupatoriums. They turned Joe Pye Weeds into Eutrochiums and Mistflower into Conoclinium, and Lord knows what else.)
As of right now, I can only find two of the five Mistflowers I planted, one of them pictured above. Though it’s possible that one or more or hiding under the ratty fern fronds.
This is my second try with Mistflowers. It likes moisture and part shade, and during my first try I put it somewhere that was just too dry during the summer. The bed by the back porch gets plenty of moisture though, in part because of a downspout and also because that’s where we keep the fountain/birdbath.
Mistflower has blue flowers that look like annual Ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum), grows 1 to 3 feet tall, and blooms starting in late August or September. The question is, can it coexist with ferns, or will the ferns shade them out while the Mistflower are emerging and the Ferns are full and lush? I guess time will tell.
Do you grow any plants that succeed ferns when they get tired in autumn?
gardeninacity 
In Maine, when the ferns go, that’s pretty much the end of the season.
In our mild climate, the season never ends it just restarts. However, ferns die back like they do everywhere else. We do not fight it. There is nothing that fills in just while the ferns are lacking, and then survives being overwhelmed by the ferns. Of course, our ‘dormant period’ for the ferns is probably not as long is it elsewhere. Ferns really only start to fold back as new fronds are uncurling already. If I had my way, we would have fewer ferns; but they do happen to be excellent in the shade of the redwood forests.
Columbine
Some ferns, like Lady Ferns, last until the end of the season. But the larger ferns tend to start breaking down in late August.
here in the pnw I have under planted/companion planted my (sword)ferns with wire vine, gulf stream nandina, heuchera, icelandic poppies, astrantia, autumn fern, japanese anenome (the white ones mainly, as the pink ones are thugs here – although they can handle the ferns well), lady’s mantle (which comes back to life in fall here when the rains come). But i think it must be different as our native sword fern is pretty constant through the year. I often cut them back in spring to keep them from taking over.
I like the thought of ferns with poppies.
I have bleeding heart, fern, and mistflower planted together in my zone 5b morning shade/afternoon sun garden, and they succeed one another in that order beautifully.
So maybe my plan will work! That;s encouraging to hear!
Wish I could grow ferns – we have the little adiantum (pedatum) and a tiny blechnum that seeds into the dry steps in the garden. Also (I think) a dryopteris growing in the shade over our water reservoir (off-flow from roof). Other than that fern-free, sad to say. Your ‘mistflower’ is pretty. Try it again next year?
I just planted some Adiantum today! I’ll try to think of ways to encourage the Mistflower to spread, but we’ll see.
We call your “mistflower” perennial ageratum. Don’t worry about the appearance of just a few this year, you’ll be inundated with them soon enough. They are pretty, especially providing that bluish-lavender color in the fall. Despite their takeover artist tendencies, they are very easy to pull up.
That’s good to hear!
Hmm, would blue-stemmed goldenrod work here or would they get lost in the ferns? I also have Eutrochium purpureum in a similar spot.
Yeah, that’s a possibility. There is some Zigzag Goldenrod nearby.
I have ginger Asurum candense growing in with Sensitive fern. It looks glossy green all through summer. I didn’t realize that mistflower needs some damp soil. Hmmm. A friend has asked me to thin out some of hers. Of course I wanted to transplant them into my garden. I don’t think I have a damp place to grow them.” … taxonomists, pursuant to their powers under the Taxonomist Full Employment Act” This statement nearly had me ROFL.
For me the Asarum needs a decent amount of moisture to stay green.
I used to have the perennial Mistflower (which I call ageratum). Must ponder that!
I can’t think of any other than asters which you already have. What about other ferns like painted fern or royal fern? Cinnamon fern has great fall color (orange).
I think the taxonomists were right to seperate this plant from the Joe Pye weeds. This doesn’t look like any Joe Pye weed I’ve ever seen.
I could do a mix of ferns if some of them were more evergreen through summer and fall.
It will be interesting to see if the Mistflower can coexist with the ferns. My mother had ferns in the garden & they were very hardy.
They have a tendency to take over.
Your combo looks fabulous…hope it regenerates for you.
I’m crossing my fingers.
Lovely texture and color combination. Mine are planted with various shades of Heuchera and different color Astilbe.
i just planted three Astilbe ‘Deutschland’ with white flowers.
I’m not knowledgeable enough to offer any suggestions for your post-fern space, but I loved your comment about taxonomists. I once bit on an article titled “Why Do Taxonomists Write the Meanest Obituaries?” and laughed all the way through. It might not be to your taste, but I have a weird sense of humor.
Thanks for the link! I read the first few paragraphs and it looks good – I’ll certainly go back to finish. My own sense of humor ranges from weird to corny.
Gosh I love this plant! And I grow some of mine near my ferns, too. My problem with Blue Mistflower is that the bunnies will eat it if I don’t cage it, so it never gets to spread beyond the caging in my garden. But it’s so beautiful–that blue! And it’s great for migrating and other pollinators! And it’s a great cut flower! The Taxonomist Full Employment Act is new to me. 😉
No, not the bunnies!!! Maybe that’s why I may have lost some.
Columbine
A good thought, though I was thinking of something that would flower in autumn.
I don’t have any ferns but I am very happy with my blue mistflower which has filled in totally an area under and between two trees that I was forever trying to remove grass from. Funny it’s even coexisting with some impromptu tomato plants.
Sounds like a versatile and adaptable plant.
Love the blue mistflower, I do hope the others come up. My ferns are trying to take over the garden, they even grow among the bricks on the wall. Prehistoric survivors, one plant we don’t have to worry about.xxx
Ferns do tend to have expansionist tendencies.
I really love my blue mist flowers. I don’t even remember planting them, but one year I had a nice colony of a mystery plant that burst into bloom at the end of the season when I least expected it. I struggle with my ferns. In most of my garden it is too dry for ferns but in other areas they get drowned out when flooding occurs, something that seems to happen more often now. I’ve seen them looking lovely with hosts, which can stand their ground against their expansionist tendencies. Just not in my garden! Colchicum might work well for you. Of course, neither of those are natives. In the wild I don’t tend to see anything growing with them or else they are in a wet boggy tangle you wouldn’t want to replicate.
I’m not really a Hosta person. Colchicums are intriguing, though. I think there are a few ferns that can tolerate dry soil. Have you ever considered Christmas Fern?
I hadn’t thought of that, but I do have a wood fern that is hanging on and is still green. It does live where we clean the dog water bowls, though, so it gets some water from that. Thanks for the suggestion. I’m not really a hosta person either but they save the day in the difficult spots I have that would otherwise be bare.