Thanks,

Virginia

I looked again this morning and found sori:

Could it be Dryopteris goldieana?

Edit: Posted my question to the Name This Plant forum, and am satisfied with the suggestion that this is Thelypteris kunthii, Wood Fern AKA Southern Shield Fern.

What zone are you in this?

Virginia, how has the fern done over the winter ? I am interested in adding one so I'd love to know how it is holding up, especially after the freezes we've had.

bsmith, it is not evergreen, and after we got 5" of snow earlier this month, it looks brown; I am assuming it will come back fine in the spring, but it doesn't look so great right now.

Hope this helps,

Virginia

I have this fern pop up all over my yard. It comes back every year and spreads by spores and runners(?). I am constantly keeping clumps in check in a shady spot next ro my house. Just chop off the dead fronds and wait for spring. It will regrow. It's a tough fern.

Above pic of full shade area. not a great shot as there’s a lot of it and you can only see a tiny bit.

It looks good in spring/early summer and then (for me) it can get a tad ratty looking. It seems caterpillars or some other bug like to eat it for lunch. Not to the point of being so bad you don’t want to have it but just enough to look worn. It does add texture and interest among impatients and hostas.

Give it a go in one area and see what happens for you. I have mine in a shady wet area. Although, it popped up in a sunny area, too. I’ve found it’s tolerant of different growing conditions.

below pic shows where it popped up on its own in the sunny area of my yard. It’s shaded by my deck umbrella at the time I took the pic. I need to tidy up that area.

are those pictures of them now or back in the summer ?