Hello! We are first time home owners and it's our first spring here. We moved in last August and ferns were everywhere.... and they're back!

I have read about getting rid of them, but am curious if I can avoid a herbicide by using the many other invasive plants we seem to have. Will they compete? Is there any that will overtake the ferns? What about covering them with dirt and planting above them?

I want our landscape to look more "English Garden" than "Amazon Rainforest" — We are very green to this, and not in a good way.

Thank you from CT

Ferns can have very invasive root systems. If you use an herbicide, you could kill more then you would want to.
Ferns are not very common in a rainforest. A NW Pacific forest perhaps. Many ferns can be controlled by sunlight. Most retreat to the dense, moist shade.

Maybe you can share a photo, Rachael. As BigBill said, ferns tend to prefer shade. And if you do have a shady garden, you may not be able to achieve the "English Garden" look anyway.

Unless there's something problematic about the ferns you have (for example, if they are notorious non-native invasives as opposed to plants that are just naturally thriving in a hospitable area), you may want to invite some gardeners in your neighborhood to take some. It could help you to thin the ranks, at least for now, and could help others who need plants for those shady areas. (I love getting ferns from others!) Perhaps some tidying up would help the appearance.

Also, while the ferns appear invasive because there's a lot of them, it's possible that the prior homeowner(s) cultivated them over time. Maybe you could get an ID, if you've not done so already, in order to best evaluate your options.

I'm not a fan of herbicides and have used other measures to get rid of plants.

It would be a shame to use herbicides to kill them. There are quite a few ferns native to Connecticut. I found this page listing a few: https://www.inaturalist.org/ch...

If you can identify which ferns you have growing on your property and whether or not they are natives; perhaps you could contact some local botanical gardens or nurseries and see if they'd be interested in taking some of them.

Thank you for your responses! I uploaded 3 photos but I don't see them here. Let me
try again... I will try just one

Here's another

And one more, looking down the slope (opposite direction) ... there is a running stream that runs along this yard also, so it's quite damp at the lower level

This side of the yard gets quite a bit of sun during the day, but as the tree cover grows in, it will become a little more shady.

I really love the English Ivy and I believe that is petunia cover that is also seen in the photos. I'm trying to identify all the trees and plants but still stumped on most of them.

Knowing what I know of New England forests you have American hophornbeam, Ironwood, lots of Red Maple and in any slightly drier areas, American Beech and perhaps an oak or two.
But if it is shaded, damp from a stream running through it, that is prime fern territory.
I urge you to figure out exactly how much sun you get. Certain plants that you might want to try may need a couple of hours, others a half day of sun and others still, full sun.
It is only my opinion now but you may be able to control the ferns by mowing or by other means but not ultimately. The natural order of things will be to revert to ferns. You can spray you can dig them out but if you can't counter a lack of sun you can't win when it comes to an English Garden.

There may be sweet cherry or Black Cherry too

RachaelCT said:

Beautiful!

Please don't kill the native ferns in favor of invasive English ivy!

I can't tell you how much trouble ivy is creating across the entire country....

You haven't seen invasive until English ivy kills the entire landscape.... And not just the native perennials, but also mature trees!

I really don't want to kill them (especially don't like the idea of herbicides). The problem is, they are just little babies right now, but once they grow in, they take over everything! I was hoping to lessen the numbers at least. I can't mow over them because they are on a slope of large rocks, and i read that they will release spores and spread more by disturbing them, so I was wondering if I could put some dirt over some of them anyway and then plant over them.

I really appreciate the replies. We are so new to this!

The English Ivy is creeping up all of our trees, and have reached the canopy of one tree in that center area (I will include one more photo), so I have to cut the vines, which breaks my heart! The good thing about the English Ivy though is it acts as a ground cover around the stream which helps stabilize the banks (this stream is very fast moving, and in parts where we don't have the Ivy, you can see some erosion).

I believe the other ground cover in the mix of the Ivy and ferns is periwinkle (I think I said petunia before, lol), which I love. It's evergreen leaves stay as ground cover year round and the flowers are starting to pop up, but I can see it getting taken over in many areas around the yard.

Is there a way for me to measure how much sun an area gets throughout the day? Also, can anyone identify those leaves that popped up to the right of the tree? They have taken over the periwinkle and just keep growing!

Thanks so much. Again, we really appreciate everyone that has replied as we learn to navigate through this!

The ferns stabilize the soil... the ivy is simply a problem for future Gardeners...
As is the periwinkle.

Suggest researching the invasiveness of both.

I don't have time this morning to suggest links, but both ivy and vinca are huge problems and very difficult to eradicate.

Now... Those ferns are supposed to grow large and lush!

Many of us would simply drool if you posted pictures from last summer when the ferns were at the height of gorgeousness!

The leaves to the right of the tree?
Daylilies? Spiderwort?

Lol, ok... you're starting to convince me. So maybe I should just let them be and find another spot to plant flowers

A large patch of ferns can be beautiful! Best to embrace what you have and work with your conditions, which have their advantages. A stream is great!

I agree with Stone: English Ivy is the enemy. It is non-native invasive plant that chokes out the natives and kills trees. It will take over unless you stay on top of it. I pull it out wherever I can.

Vinca is almost as bad. I have a patch that was planted by the prior homeowners, and it's so aggressive. I have to pull a lot of it out each year to prevent it from crowding out the desirable plants.

If it were me, I'd pull out these and any other aggressive non-natives. (It's going to be an ongoing project.) My goal would to be tidy things up, and hopefully have a carpet of ferns in some places. If you've ever seen that, it's a sight to behold! You may want to think about planting some shorter native trees or shrub, with the ferns serving as your understory. The height differences can create some architectural interest.

Weeding, laying mulch, and moving plants around may move towards the look you want to achieve, albeit not with all the plants you may desire.

Yes - there are products you can buy to measure the amount of sunlight you get in different locations, although I've never used them. You might be able to figure it out by observation on a weekend.

Last, there are plenty of pretty flowers - both annuals and perennials -- that you can plan in part sun/part shade conditions!

We've had English ivy grow up a tree and we are in the process of trying to figure out how to remove a huge tree close to a structure, making it more challenging. The ivy grows into the tree and strangles it, and it's impossible to remove. I can tell from your photo that it has happened to your tree too. If you walk up to the tree and give the vine a tug, you will see what I mean about it growing into the tree. In your photo, the ivy is also covering the rocks which may be a pretty contrast to the ferns if the ivy vines weren't there.

If you don't want to use herbicide, take large pruners and work the ivy vines out and try to pull them out by hand (more difficult). Caution- if you decide to use herbicide, do not spray on a windy day and be careful what plants you are spraying.

Some different types of hosta would look really nice with the ferns.

So many people move into a property and want to change things. You cannot have an English Garden (whatever that is) in an area which is a thriving native shady area. Embrace what you have and plant a flower garden elsewhere. Your woodland will have taken a long time to get to the stage it's at now, IMO it looks harmonious. In the first year take stock of what you have before you start ripping stuff out and spraying poisons.

I can't tell you how helpful you've all been. I'm so grateful for this forum. It's been very eye opening.

Since reading all of your replies, I believe I understand now the difference between native and non-native plants. It's caused a complete reversal in the plants I wish to keep versus those I want to remove. I now want to keep the ferns and get rid of the non-natives, including the English Ivy, but I realize it will be a process. It's very important to us that we have stable soil because the house is on a slope with a stream at the bottom, and the back of our house is literally 10 feet away from it (built in 1900; would never be permitted today!).

I really want to make sure the stream banks are stable, so removing the English Ivy will be a task. I'm nervous to disturb the banks, but think it will be better in the long run. I will need to research what natives will thrive along stream banks, and would be happy to hear from any of you if you have some suggestions!

I am curious: are all non-natives bad? For example, I have a beautiful dappled willow that I just planted. I was hoping to propagate it and I read they do really well in wet soils. Because it is non-native, does that mean it won't root deeply?

Thank you all so much!

P.S. MissySue: Thank you for the tips on removing the English Ivy from the trees — I have to do it on 6 large trees, ugh!

Well I love English ivy. I can appreciate that it could be a problem competing with other plants but over here it's such a valuable wildlife plant. You might do more harm than good removing it.
I think your willow will be fine. The only concern is how close it is to the property as some willows shouldn't be planted close to buildings.
We all grow many plants that aren't native. I think it's the invasiveness that's the problem.
I hope you'll keep us updated on your progress, and enjoy your garden!