Spring Ferning

The Search is On

It is only the middle of March, but the snow & ice are aimost gone, and many of us are ready for Spring! Randy and I have been going out several times a week all winter, searching out the winter ferns and looking for signs of new growth. It is still early, and things are just starting to warm up, but there is hope!

Yesterday I went to one of our favorite fern places in Belchertown, which in good years has a glorious display of Dissected Grape Ferns (Sceptridium dissectum). The Dissected Grape Ferns do overwinter under the snow and when that has melted, we go out to find them again. Most of these ferns turn a beautiful bronze color in the Fall, which makes them more difficult to find amongst the leaves, and now, among the dead leaves and plant materials. But once you start seeing some, you develop a certain search image that helps differentiate them from the rest of the material. It does require you to kneel on the ground and search low and patiently!

This photo has 3 little Dissected Grape Ferns in it. The penny gives you a sense of the size of the ferns. They are a bit of a challenge, but worth it. I did remove some dead grasses obscuring them a little, to make a better photo. Randy and I found new small ferns in this area late last season, so I was searching in the general area, and was lucky to find them. Glad they survived the drought and winter. New Dissected Grape Ferns won't be coming up until about June.

So if you are ready for a new season and a challenge, start looking carefully for ferns that have been hiding under the snow.

Posted: to PV Fern News on Sun, Mar 16, 2025
Updated: Fri, Mar 21, 2025