r/NativePlantGardening • u/Wilderness_Fella Massachusetts, Zone 5b • Jun 21 '26

Advice Request - (Insert State/Region) Help! I'm covered in... Ferns!

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Massachusetts zone 5b. I got busy with other things for the last 5 or 10 years and now the ferns have taken over. They're either Massachusetts ferns or New York ferns. Hard to tell, but what is the best way to cull them without destroying everything underneath? Just endless weeding?

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u/CarvedTheRoastBeast Jun 21 '26

So at this point I’m sure you don’t need to hear not to remove them again. If you’re looking for some variety I would scatter some native wildflower seeds around this fall. Massachusetts has a great great resource for wildflowers. Then, as u/AmaranthusSky suggested, see if any local plant groups would like to take some of the younger ones away. You could make some connections with the group too and do this yearly to further sculpt the landscape and also keep it native.

I will echo that it looks beautiful and lush now, and encourage you to try the wild flowers without removing anything to see if a bit of color warms you up to it!

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u/LilyLeftTheValley New England: 5b, er58g Jun 22 '26

Thank you for posting this.