Autumn Ferns - Dryopteris erythrosora - Winter Evergreen - Zone 5b - December 2021
Back in May of this Spring, I planted three Autumn Ferns - Dryopteris erythrosora - that I picked up from a big box nursery in an area of the backyard that is becoming a little Japanese-garden-inspired section with a dwarf Japanese Tamukeyama Maple tree anchoring the bed. I took that photo this morning and it is striking when compared to EVERYTHING else around our yard. Those three ferns are seemingly UNAFFECTED by the frost and the onset of Winter. Everywhere else I look, my ferns are gone. Ostrich ferns? Gone. Japanese Painted Ferns? Gone. Ghost Ferns? Gone. Lady Ferns? Gone. But, these? They're tall, proud and....GREEN. What the heck is going on?!? When I planted them , I referenced this listing from the Missouri Botanic Garden that talks about how they are "semi-evergreen". I noted that in the original post, but I didn't think MUCH about it. I suppose, I should have because this is a pretty great feature. One of the things that I'm thinkin