I am assuming most of my plants that spent the winter underground will survive. But i have been a little worried about those that were only planted last year and came from East or West Coast nurseries. So I was thrilled today when I suddenly saw this little bit of green emerging in my new garden under the apple tree. I always leave fern fronds in place for the winter. They help protect the crown of the plant and they alert me in the spring to where I should not step.
This is Polystichum retrosopaleaceum, aka Polystichum retroso paleaceum aka Narrow Tassel Fern according to some sources. It is an Asian species and wants a moist woodland soil. Since it looks like all three plants I ordered from Far Reaches Farm last year have survived, I guess I must be giving them what they want.
