Failing Maidenhair Fern?

Question

Hello, we are living full time in a cabin on Drummond Island MI which I think is zone 5b. The original owners in mid 1960 were naturalists who collected plants in our county and some in the Eastern Upper Peninsula which they planted on our property. Columbine, lady slippers, forget ne nots, pearly everlasting, blood root, a few I can think of now. Along the north side of the home was a lush planting of ferns. They have been there since it came to my family in 1983. This year, the deer seemed to have eaten from these plants in early spring which I’ve never seen previously, and the plants never seemed to fill out as the year went by. In addition to the deer, we added a 5′ extension just to the west of these plants, so some of the sunlight and weather will have changed. Is there a method we can start with hopes of getting these plants happy again in their environment? Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Answer 1

Since they have been in that bed for so long, they could do with some replenishing. Check the bed for weeds, insect damage, and overly crowded plants. Remove the poor performers and add new, along with some compost to revive the soil. Here are ferns hardy in zone 5 (maidenhair is not):

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/gardening-by-zone/zone-5/growing-ferns-in-zone-5.htm