Dryopteris erythrosora
Autumn Fern
Durable outdoor fern with coppery new growth and better tolerance for drier shade than many woodland standbys.
Sun Part shade Water Moderate Care Low
Experiment
Mulch versus bare soil in a shade bed
The mulched zone held moisture longer and required fewer recovery waterings, with better frond density by the end of the test period.
Season Summer Duration 10 weeks Risk low
Hypothesis
A light shredded-leaf mulch layer will reduce summer moisture loss enough to improve fern establishment compared with bare soil.
Intervention
Split one shade bed into mulched and unmulched zones for 10 weeks during summer establishment.
Confidence note
High confidence for the site tested. Results are likely portable to similar shade beds with comparable soil texture.
Recovery watering frequency
Lower in mulched zone
End-of-period frond density
Higher in mulched zone
Surface drying speed
Slower with mulch
This was one of the cleaner experiments in the repo because the intervention was small, the observation window was long enough, and the site conditions stayed comparable.
Related plants
Profiles involved in the intervention
Polystichum munitum
Western Sword Fern
Robust evergreen fern for woodland-style plantings with enough scale to replace weak turf-adjacent shade fillers.
Sun Part shade Water Moderate Care Low
Athyrium niponicum
Japanese Painted Fern
Deciduous fern valued for silver-gray fronds and precise shade-bed contrast rather than raw bulk.
Sun Part shade Water Moderate Care Moderate
Experiment checklist
Local-state checklist for repeatable field logging
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