This plant is a low maintenance shrub in the Myricaceae family. This native to eastern North America has aromatic foliage that resembles ferns, hence the common name of sweet fern. It is often found along roadsides and is capable of fixing its own nitrogen. It works well in rain gardens or be allowed to naturalize. Once established, it can spread rapidly to form colonies. This beautiful plant has a delicate look that will give that exotic, lush feel to your garden and enhance its beauty with its luxurious green leaves. A plant that tolerates many conditions including drought, wet sites, and wind. It can even grow in sheltered seaside locations. Prefers sandy acidic loams, well-drained, in full sun to part. It does not transplant well so choose a location carefully. This would make a good choice for stabilizing slopes or embankments. This plant naturalizes, wet sites, deciduous, low maintenance and has fragrant leaves. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant insect or disease problems.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Mature size
Height: 2 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in. | Width: 4 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Slow
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Rounded; Spreading
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Gold/Yellow; Green; Orange; Red/Burgundy
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf shape
Pinnatifid
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaf feel
Glossy
Leaf value
Fragrant; Showy
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Zig-zagged leaves are simple, narrow, lustrous, pinnatifid, deeply notched, olive to dark green (to 4" long). Sometimes they can be a mixture of red, orange, or yellow. They are very fragrant when crushed.
Fall color
Brown/Copper
Flower color
Brown/Copper; Gold/Yellow; Green; Insignificant
Flower form
Catkin
Flower detail
This plant has brown male catkins and yellow-green female flowers. Both appear in April-May.