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Real photographs from naturalists and photographers worldwide, each used under its own license. Credit: Photo by Kent P. McFarland / iNaturalist (CC0) and Photo by Reuven Martin / iNaturalist (CC0). How photos are sourced →
Ostrich Fern
Matteuccia struthiopteris
Ostrich Fern is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Ostrich Fern
Plant it in part shade. It prefers high water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–7. Expect it to reach about 4 ft tall and 3 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 3 years (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Ostrich Fern
Plant Ostrich Fern in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 5, the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 7, spring means April to June and fall means August or September.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 5, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 5 in April. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Ostrich Fern get?
4 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult3 ftwideSee Ostrich Fern in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Ostrich Fern
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Ostrich Fern about 3 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Ostrich Fern to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Ostrich Fern's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags were checked against 10 published sources on October 29, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources. Bloom was checked as well: Ostrich Fern bears no flowers, so there is no bloom window for a source to carry.
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- plantfinder.nativeplanttrust.orgNative Plant Trust Plant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and water
- Prairie Moon Nurseryheight, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags
- Chicago Botanic Gardenheight, hardiness zones, sun and water
- Penn State Extensionheight, spread, hardiness zones and trait tags
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, sun and water
- extension.sdstate.eduSouth Dakota State University Extensionheight and sun
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centersun
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 25 states and 12 provinces
United States: Alaska, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and 13 more
Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Yukon
Recorded growing wild in 400 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
Good to know about Ostrich Fern
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.
Safety
Its spring fiddleheads are edible but must be cooked thoroughly: raw or lightly cooked ones have caused documented outbreaks of nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Boil or steam them well. per University of Maine and CDC MMWR
Worth knowing
It grows two kinds of frond: showy green plumes, plus separate stiff fertile fronds that turn dark brown and stand through winter, holding the spores and giving cold-season interest. per NC State
Height depends on conditions
In cool, moist, rich ground it can reach 1.5 to 1.8 m, but in drier or warmer sites it often stays nearer 0.6 to 0.9 m. per Penn State and Missouri Botanical Garden
Spreads into colonies by runners
Unlike clumping ferns, it runs by underground stolons into large, dense colonies and can overrun a small border. Give it room, or contain it with a root barrier. per NC State
Browns out in heat
In summer heat or dry soil the green fronds scorch and brown out early, sometimes collapsing well before fall. Constant moisture and shade keep it looking good. per NC State
Deer-resistant
It is generally deer-resistant, though deer may nibble the tender new fronds as they unfurl in spring. per Penn State
Habitat, not pollinator forage
As a fern it has no flowers or nectar, so no pollinator forage; its value is habitat: a larval host and shelter and nesting cover for small wildlife. per Illinois Extension
What pairs well with Ostrich Fern
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
American Wintergreen
Shares part shade and moderate to high water; lower at 8 in, for the front of the border; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; both are North American natives.
Feathered Friends Fancy Finch Ajuga
Shares part shade and moderate to high water; low at 4 in, to carpet the ground beneath; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Pachysandra
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; lower at 8 in, for the front of the border; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Coloratus Wintercreeper
Shares part shade and moderate to high water; lower at 8 in, for the front of the border; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Rosebay Rhododendron
Shares part shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; taller at 11 ft, for the layer behind it; both are North American natives.
Eastern Hemlock
Shares part shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; both are North American natives.
Celtic Pride Siberian Cypress
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; lower at 1.5 ft, for the front of the border.
Lily of the Valley
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; lower at 8 in, for the front of the border.
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