Botanical Name: Comptonia peregrina
Height: About 1 m.
Season of bloom: Spring. Grown for attractive, scented foliage, not the modest flowers.
Growing Conditions: Infertile, dry, sandy soil. Full sun to light, part-day shade. A relatively low shrub which suckers.
Wildlife benefits:
From Ottawa Valley or eastern Ontario sources: Yes
Remarks: When sited carefully, so its suckering nature is a benefit not a problem, Sweet Fern can be a useful and beautiful landscape choice. Foliage releases fragrance when crushed but also on warm sunny afternoons.
Similar species: Bayberry
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Beaux Arbres Plantes Indigènes / Native Plants 