General Info	RHS AGM
Shade	Full Shade, Full Sun, Partial Shade
Area	Frost Pockets, Scotland & The North
Soil	Good, Well Drained, Acidic, Poor/Dry
Type	Evergreen
Ornamental	Foliage

Dryopteris affinis

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	Buy 6 or more potted plants and save

SIZES	1-5	6+
2 Litre Pot	Out of Stock £14.99	Out of Stock£13.99
	Prices include VAT(where applicable)

Out of Stock

£5.40

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Dryopteris affinis: Scaly Male or Golden Shield Fern. 2 Litre Pot Grown Plants

A large, upright magnificent fern that can get quite big with time. The new growth is lemon-lime coloured, maturing to green. The stems are decorated with marmalade yellow scales called ramenta. Fronds can reach over 1.5 metres, and the base of an old specimen can grow into quite a large mound. It is pretty much evergreen in most of the UK.

Browse our other ferns or our full range of garden shrubs.

Features

Bright, yellow-green new foliage
Semi-evergreen
Upright, large
Most soils & positions
Hardy
Native
Frond length to 1.5-2m
RHS Award of Garden Merit

Growing Golden Shield Ferns

This flexible and hardy fern is not fussy about soil quality or shade - it only needs moisture and good drainage to thrive. Well-established plants are reasonably tolerant of dry conditions, but cool and moist is their preference.

Dead fronds remain attached to the base of the fern. Removing them will allow more light in for the living ones.

In Your Garden Design

Ferns may be popular in garden design in North America and Asia, but can be often overlooked in the UK which is surprising given the fact they can have a real purpose particularly in those dark, shady, dank areas of the garden where no other plant can reach. This can make them ideal for small metropolitan garden areas where often a design inside the house can be minimalist and a small, simply decorated garden using predominantly ferns can reflect that. Dryopteris affinis can be an excellent addition. Its bronze-green fronds add a subtle variation to a woodland planting scheme and would stand out in any small urban garden, paired with other ferns at a range of heights and placed next to any hosta. Camelias and Japanese Acers can be added to the mix as long as they are in the right soil, perhaps in pots, and caladiums and astilbes are good companion plants too.

Did You Know?

Native, they are common in the UK's more natural areas around meadows and rocky hills in colder Northern regions.

Dryopteris means oak fern, referring to the shady deciduous forests that they love. According to The Woodland Trust they give clues about the age of woodlands: "Scaly male fern is used as an ancient-woodland- indicator plant. These species can help identify older woodlands with longer ecological continuity."

Read our full terms and conditions here.

Delivery: Our standard delivery charges are:

Small box (orders containing only seedlings or rooted cuttings) = £7.20 (inc VAT) per order.
Standard box (bareroot plants up to 1.2metres) = £11.40 (inc VAT) per order.
Large box (pots up to and including 7.5 litres) = £15.00 (inc VAT) per order.
Trees & hedging (bareroot plants and trees over 1.2 metres in height) = £19.80 (inc VAT) per order.
Orders delivered to Scotland and the Isle of Wight may incur a surcharge (calculated during checkout). This is applicable to ALL orders to these locations.
Pallets (for all orders of root balls, and large orders, a pallet price will be automatically applied at checkout) = £75.00 (inc VAT) per order.
If, for reasons of seasonality an order needs to be split, then we will charge for each delivery. If the whole order was eligible for free P&P then the second of the split orders will be delivered free of charge.

*Surcharges to the Highlands and Islands still apply.

Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
We will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.

Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.

Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.

Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted hedging must be watered in dry weather while it is establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week in summer if there is no heavy rain.

Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot hedging plants to gardeners, farmers and town planners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying hedging plants online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.

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Dryopteris affinis

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