Beautiful as well as very useful, Asplenium bulbiferum makes a striking cover plant for shady situations. The emphasis is on shade - in sun the lacy foliage turns an ugly lime colour, but in low light it’s a beautiful, soothing green.
This New Zealand native grows to about 90 centimetres in height and is ideal for growing beneath trees. The ground doesn’t need to be damp, but the soil should be reasonably good. Poorer soils can be improved by adding compost and mulching every year. Looks lovely beneath established camellias and rhododendrons. Mix with hostas too - when the hostas die down in winter the asplenium carries on the interest. Or plant a big group on its own - weeds will be smothered, making a low or no maintenance planting, and the swathe of green is easy on the eyes.
Asplenium bulbiferum is also an intriguing container plant for shade, the fronds weeping gracefully over the edge of a pot, but it mustn’t be allowed to dry out when grown this way.
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Schemes & Themes
using Liddle Wonder Plants