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Matteuccia struthiopteris

shuttlecock fern

AGM plants

AGM plants have been through a rigorous trial and assessment programme. They are:

  • Excellent for ordinary use in appropriate conditions
  • Available to buy
  • Of good constitution
  • Essentially stable in form & colour
  • Reasonably resistant to pests & diseases
© RHS 2001
Sold by 80 nurseries

  • Other common names shuttlecock fern
    ostrich fern

    ostrich-feather fern

    see more

  • Family Onocleaceae

  • Genus Matteuccia are rhizomatous deciduous ferns, sometimes with stolons, forming shuttlecock-like rosettes of erect or spreading, pinnately divided fronds, with smaller, erect, bead-like fertile fronds

  • Details M. struthiopteris is a deciduous, stoloniferous fern forming colonies of erect rosettes to 1.5m in height, with lance-shaped, bright green, bipinnatifid sterile fronds surrounding shorter, brownish fertile fronds

  • Plant range Europe Asia USA

Characteristics

  • Foliage Deciduous

  • Habit Suckering

  • Hardiness

    Hardiness ratings

    All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

    • H1a - Under glass all year (>15C)
    • H1b - Can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
    • H1c - Can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
    • H2 - Tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
    • H3 - Hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
    • H4 - Hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
    • H5 - Hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
    • H6 - Hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
    • H7 - Hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20)

    H5

Colour

Sunlight

  • Partial Shade

  • Full Shade

  • Aspect South-facing or North-facing or West-facing or East-facing

  • Exposure Sheltered

Soil

  • Clay

    Clay

  • Loam

    Loam

  • Sand

    Sand

  • MoistureMoist but well-drained

  • SoilClay, Loam, Sand

  • pHAcid, Neutral

Size

  • Ultimate height 1-1.5 metres

  • Ultimate spread 1.5-2.5 metres

  • Time to ultimate height 5-10 years

How to grow

Cultivation Easy to grow in most cool, moist, shaded sites and useful for very wet sites

Propagation Propagate by sowing spores as soon as ripe or by division in spring

Suggested planting locations and garden types Flower borders and beds Low Maintenance Underplanting of Roses and Shrubs Cottage & Informal Garden

How to care

Pruning Dead or damaged fronds may be removed as necessary

Pests Generally pest free outdoors

Diseases Generally disease free outdoors

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