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Hypolepis repens

Previously known as:

  • Dicksonia aculeata
  • Hypolepis aculeata
  • Hypolepis delicatula
Phonetic Spelling
hih-poh-LEP-iss reh-PENS
Description

Easy to grow fern in the bracken fern family.  It has large leaves and rather long slender stems and creeping rhizomes and naturally occurs in well-drained moist, open woods with wet soil.  The weight of the leaves are often supported by surrounding vegetation.  Roots are formed the entire length of the plant's stem and are numerous at the leaf bases.

A hard freeze will kill it to the ground but it will regrow in the spring in zone 8 and higher.

It has the ability to form large colonies.  

Its fronds are unusually large, while its long stems will creep along the ground.

VIDEO Created by NC State Extension's Homegrown series featuring Mark Weathington, Director of JC Raulston Arboretum.

Profile Video:
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Cultivars / Varieties:
Tags:
#evergreen#deciduous#shade garden#large leaves#fern#low maintenance#deer resistant#evergreen ferns#wet soils tolerant#perennial fern#broadleaf#perennial
 
Cultivars / Varieties:
Tags:
#evergreen#deciduous#shade garden#large leaves#fern#low maintenance#deer resistant#evergreen ferns#wet soils tolerant#perennial fern#broadleaf#perennial
  • Attributes:
    Genus:
    Hypolepis
    Species:
    repens
    Family:
    Dennstaedtiaceae
    Life Cycle:
    Perennial
    Country Or Region Of Origin:
    Tropical & Subtropical America, Florida
    Distribution:
    FL
    Play Value:
    Buffer
    Defines Paths
    Textural
    Particularly Resistant To (Insects/Diseases/Other Problems):
    Heavy shade, Deer
    Dimensions:
    Height: 3 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in.
    Width: 3 ft. 0 in. - 5 ft. 0 in.
  • Whole Plant Traits:
    Plant Type:
    Fern
    Ground Cover
    Herbaceous Perennial
    Habit/Form:
    Creeping
    Spreading
    Growth Rate:
    Rapid
    Maintenance:
    Low
    Texture:
    Medium
    Appendage:
    Prickles
  • Cultural Conditions:
    Light:
    Dappled Sunlight (Shade through upper canopy all day)
    Deep shade (Less than 2 hours to no direct sunlight)
    Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
    Soil Drainage:
    Good Drainage
    Moist
    Occasionally Wet
    Available Space To Plant:
    3 feet-6 feet
    6-feet-12 feet
    USDA Plant Hardiness Zone:
    9a, 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b
  • Fruit:
    Fruit Description:
    No fruits. This plants reproduces via spores.
  • Flowers:
    Flower Description:
    No flowers.
  • Leaves:
    Leaf Color:
    Green
    Leaf Type:
    Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
    Fronds
    Leaf Arrangement:
    Rosulate
    Leaf Shape:
    Elliptical
    Lanceolate
    Oblong
    Pinnatifid
    Hairs Present:
    No
    Leaf Length:
    3-6 inches
    Leaf Width:
    < 1 inch
    Leaf Description:
    Large fronds; triangular with three or four divisions; blade has sparse hairs; stipe and rachis have small spines
  • Stem:
    Stem Is Aromatic:
    No
    Stem Description:
    Has long, creeping, branching stems.
  • Landscape:
    Landscape Location:
    Coastal
    Pond
    Slope/Bank
    Woodland
    Landscape Theme:
    Shade Garden
    Design Feature:
    Mass Planting
    Resistance To Challenges:
    Deer
    Heavy Shade