Ferns🌿 Native to the NetherlandsVery hardy — tolerates frost down to -25°C

Crested buckler-fern

Name: Crested buckler-fern (Dryopteris cristata)
Brand: HSMN Planten
SKU: 6a8b542a22e403169e0c21a2
Price: 6.45 EUR
Availability: BackOrder

Dryopteris cristata

From€6.45incl. VAT

Select a size to order

Choose a size

–

Crested Buckler Fern (Dryopteris cristata) is a native swamp fern with distinct sterile and fertile leaves. The lower sterile leaves spread further, while the longer fertile leaves grow upright. During spore maturation, parts of the fertile leaf twist slightly, creating the characteristic comb-like appearance. The species grows in sphagnum reed lands, low-peat moors, wet dune valleys, swamp forests, along forest ditches, and at the edges of raised bogs. Crested Buckler Fern requires a permanently moist to wet, acidic, and relatively nutrient-poor soil.

Specific care needed

The root zone must remain permanently moist to wet. Do not plant in an ordinary dry border and never let peat soil dry out completely. Avoid lime, fertilization, and nutrient-rich runoff.

Year calendar

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
🍂Has autumn colour

Pruning period

✂️Best pruning period: Feb–Mar

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
✂️ Pruning period

Best pruning period

Leave dead foliage throughout winter and remove it carefully before new growth appears.

Botanical profile

Site & soil

Sun, Half shade

Soil type: Loam, Peat, Humus-rich

Moisture need: Moist, Wet / marshy

pH: Acidic (<5.5), Slightly acidic (5.5–6.5)

Nutrient richness: Nutrient-poor, Moderately nutrient-rich

Humus content: Moderately humus-rich, Humus-rich, Peaty

Water drainage: Moisture-retentive, Poorly draining

Appearance & season

Mature height: 30-80cm

Bloom: Niet van toepassing

Autumn colour: The outer leaves turn yellow-brown; some inner and fertile leaves may remain green longer.

Properties

Salt sensitive: Yes

Edible: No

Do not use for consumption.

Scent: No distinctive odor. The leaf has at most a light green swamp or fern scent.

Creeping rhizome: No

Ecological value

Crested Buckler Fern provides habitat for specialized fern-feeders, marsh beetles, spiders, snails, and other moisture-loving invertebrates. The clump forms a sheltered transition between the wet ground and higher marsh vegetation. Young amphibians and other small animals can seek shelter among the leaves. Birds search there for insects and spiders. Dying leaves are broken down by fungi and soil organisms and contribute to the organic matter of the marsh.

Food web & Biodiversity

🐛 Caterpillars & mothsUseful

🐝 Bees & bumblebeesLimited

🪰 HoverfliesUseful

🦋 ButterfliesUseful

🪲 Beetles & insectsVery useful

🐦 BirdsUseful

🐿️ MammalsUseful

🐞 Other animalsVery useful

Its greatest value lies in the moist microhabitat for insects, spiders, snails, and amphibians. Caterpillars of some specialized species can utilize the leaves. Mammals sometimes use the fern as cover, but the wet location and limited size make this function smaller.

Distribution in the Netherlands