Dryopteris affinis ‘Cristata The King’ – Golden Male Ferns – Hardy Garden Fern Plants

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.

 

Description

Growing conditions required for Dryopteris Affinis “Cristata”

Soil: It is one of the acid-loving plants that require acidic soil to grow, hence pine needles are added to the compost that is used to mulch the plant. The soil should also be moist but well-draining like chalk, sandy, or loamy soil.

Light: It performs best south-facing, west-facing, north-facing, or east-facing in a partially sheltered or fully sheltered location. It can tolerate exposure to sunlight if it is heavily watered during that period.

Water: The water needs are on the high side as Cristata King loves wet or boggy environments. You should keep the topsoil moist to wet at all times and increase the watering when the weather is hot. 

Pruning: Pruning for aesthetics is not necessary but you should prune to remove dead and damaged fronds in autumn and winter but before the next growing season.

Insects and diseases: It is generally pest-free and is hardly affected by plant diseases.

Growing Dryopteris Affinis “Cristata”

Cristata the king is propagated by sowing the fresh spores as soon as they get ripe or by division of clumps in spring. Plant the ripe spores in rich, moist, and acidic soil then water heavily and leave to germinate. 

You will need to ensure that the soil at the planting site is kept consistently moist. Though this plant loves water and boggy areas, it can still grow well in less moisture. For example, if you grow it as a potted plant, then it will not get as much water as it loves but as long as it is kept in a partially or fully shaded area, away from extreme heat and sun your plant will still grow well.

It is a perfect specimen plant in city and courtyard gardens, cottage gardens, woodland gardens or can be used as border plants around ponds and streams.

Striking fern that produces a shuttlecock of arching fronds 10-15cm across with crested tips. It is one of the more attractive cultivars and virtually evergreen. Best planted in a sheltered partially shady border with moist humus-rich soil with other shade-loving woodland perennials.

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