Dryopteris Affinis “Cristata”
Dryopteris Affinis “Cristata” also known as Wooded fern or Cristata the King is a semi-evergreen fern that keeps its leaves for most seasons. It is a handsome male fern commonly found in woodland and other wetter parts of the UK.
This beautiful fern has a clump-forming habit that grows a badge of narrow and oblong-shaped bipinnate fronds with fronds of 20 pairs of short-stemmed leaflets. The fronds emerge in the spring as golden-green and retain a healthy bright summer throughout summer. By autumn, after the growing season, the colour begins to fade and some fronds will die off during winter or before the next growing season.
Cristata has sterile and fertile fronds occurring on the same plant. You can easily identify the fertile fronds by the wide-spaced leaflets that are held at an angle to create space for the production of spores that line the bottom of the leaves in an irregular pattern.
These brown, kidney-shaped spores are used for the reproduction and cultivation of the plant. On the other hand, the sterile fronds are the evergreen fronds that are blueish-green and arching.
Grow And Caring For Dryopteris Affinis “Cristata”
Dryopteris Affinis is a hardy plant that is easy to cultivate and care for as long as it is given the right conditions. It is not a fussy plant but you need to pay attention to its needs and care for it in its first growing season before it is properly established.
Relatively, it is a small and fast-growing plant that can reach its ultimate height of 1 to 2 feet in height and 9 to 23 inches in diameter in a decade or less. Let’s get to the simple growing conditions that you need to keep your Cristata fern plant healthy.