Outdoor ferns

Question

My daughter moved into a house that has ferns on one side of her house. We live in Olympia, WA. The ferns are too big. How and when can we reduce their size without digging or dividing plants? I have seen in past where the mounds were cut to the “mound” and they grow back. But I don’t know what time of year they were done, or if this is a correct and safe way to control the size of ferns. I don’t know the variety, but they are long and huge and would like to see the ferns more controlled and not be such monsters! Thank you for any help. Teresa Chamberlain

Answer 1

Division of Ferns is generally done in early spring.
Ferns generally die back on their own after frost and cold weather has moved in.
Reducing how tall the Ferns grow is not possible, you can simply reduce the size of fern groupings.
You may want to dig up the Ferns and move them to a more suitable location.

Unwanted plants can sometimes be dug up and given to other gardeners. Perhaps a call to the local garden club would put you in touch with some local homeowners that would love to take the Ferns off of your daughters hands. They may even come help remove the plants.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/foliage/ferns/taking-care-of-outdoor-ferns.htm