Matteuccia struthiopteris - Shuttlecock Fern Plant in 9 cm Pot

Ferns are a delight for any garden that can provide their basic requirements. They fill that space that few other plants will thrive in and at the same time bring colour and form to please. A rich, always moist but free draining, neutral or acid soil, with plenty of organic matter, in a shady location is ideal. A small amount of sun early or late in the day will not harm but may darken the colour of the foliage. Matteuccia struthiopteris is a RHS Award of Garden Merit winner which has erect rosettes to 1.5m in height, with lance-shaped, bright green, edible, sterile fronds surrounding shorter, brownish fertile fronds. At its very best in spring as the young shuttlecock fronds unfurl. A beautiful and very impressive fern! Ferns can be grown very successfully in pots and containers as long as you can reproduce the basic requirements, and especially the need for constant moisture. Use a good quality neutral or acid (ericaceous) peat or peat substitute compost. Be very careful with cheap peat free composts that often dry out very quickly. Ferns generally require a constant feed of nutrients so please ensure you feed regularly as a hungry plant is a poor performer. We recommend Osmocote pro 8 - 9 month applied in the early spring as growth begins. One application gives all the nutrients the plant requires.