{"product_id":"matteuccia-struthiopteris","title":"Matteuccia struthiopteris","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMatteuccia struthiopteris\u003c\/strong\u003e, the \u003cstrong\u003eostrich fern\u003c\/strong\u003e or \u003cstrong\u003eshuttlecock fern\u003c\/strong\u003e, is one of the most architectural and rewarding hardy ferns you can grow. In spring, tightly coiled croziers push up from the crown and unfurl into a perfect vase-shaped rosette of soft, feathery, bright green fronds, arranged like the plumes of an ostrich tail or the flights of a shuttlecock. Few foliage plants bring such fresh, sculptural elegance to a shady garden, which is exactly why this \u003cstrong\u003eostrich fern\u003c\/strong\u003e has long been an RHS Award of Garden Merit favourite.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eKey features\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStriking shuttlecock rosettes of fresh green fronds reaching 1 to 1.5 m tall\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpreads gently by underground runners to form handsome naturalised colonies\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDistinctive stiff, brown fertile fronds that stand through winter for added structure\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFully hardy and superbly easy in damp, shady spots where little else thrives\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a fern that earns its keep in the trickiest corners. It loves moist, humus-rich, neutral to acid soil and is one of the few ferns happy in heavy, damp clay or beside a pond or stream. Plant it in dappled or full shade with shelter from drying winds, dig in plenty of leaf mould or compost, and keep the soil reliably moist while the crown establishes. From a single plant, slender stolons quietly travel outward, sending up new shuttlecocks until you have a lush, fern-filled drift, perfect for woodland borders, bog gardens and damp town gardens alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs a deciduous fern, it dies back gracefully in autumn and rests dormant below ground, reliably resprouting each spring without any winter protection. Hardy right across the UK (RHS H7), \u003cstrong\u003eMatteuccia struthiopteris\u003c\/strong\u003e shrugs off the coldest winters, and the unfurling spring fiddleheads are famously eaten as a delicacy in some regions once thoroughly cooked. Whether you are after a bold ground-covering statement or a touch of woodland romance, the \u003cstrong\u003eshuttlecock fern\u003c\/strong\u003e delivers fresh green theatre season after season.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery \u003cstrong\u003eostrich fern\u003c\/strong\u003e we send out is a strong, well-rooted plant, carefully grown and selected so it settles in quickly and starts colonising your shady spaces from its very first season.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GROW TROPICALS","offers":[{"title":"11cm","offer_id":57810282578303,"sku":"MATTSTRU11","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/growtropicals.com\/products\/matteuccia-struthiopteris","provider":"GrowTropicals","version":"1.0","type":"link"}