Response of hardy ferns to drought stress

There is an ongoing search for drought-tolerant perennials for the landscape. Hardy ferns are both cold and heat tolerant with unknown response to drought stress. In this study we examined how reduced watering altered plant growth of Athyrium niponicum ‘Red Beauty’, Cyrtomium fortunei ‘Clivicola’, Dryopteris atrata, Dryopteris erythrosora, Dryoperis filix-mas, Dryoperis filix-mas ‘Linearis Polydactylon’ and Polystichum setiferum ‘Proliferum’ compared with optimal watering condition. From among the 7 fern taxa, Athyrium niponicum ‘Red Beauty’ and Dryoperis filix-mas turned out the most sensitive to reduced watering and they demonstrated leaf browning and drying. No or little visual leaf damage was observed in Cyrtomium fortunei 'Clivicola', Dryopteris erythrosora, and Polystichum setiferum ‘Proliferum’. Plants of this taxa maintained leaf turgidity and were relatively drought-tolerant.