A graceful and fast-growing native fern, Shaking Brake is recognised by its fresh bright-green fronds, which characteristically tremble in even a light breeze. Highly adaptable and quick to establish, it is useful for revegetation, forest margins, banks, and naturalistic native plantings where a vigorous fern is required.
🌱 Plant Facts
• Growth habit: Terrestrial fern with a short, erect stem
• Fronds: Bright green, thin and finely divided
• Leaflets: Overlapping, with free veins that do not form a network
• Distinctive feature: Delicate fronds visibly tremble or shake in a breeze
• Reproduction: Spore producing
• Growth rate: Fast
• Height: Up to 50 cm
🌍 Natural Habitat
• Coastal to montane environments in the northern part of its range
• Open and relatively dry forest
• Native scrub and forest margins
• Tracks and roadsides
• Banks and disturbed ground
• Retaining walls and similar urban habitats
🌿 Growing Environment
• Full sun to partial shade
• Frost tolerant
• Wind tolerant
• Coastal tolerant
• Salt tolerant
• Free-draining soils
An adaptable fern capable of thriving in a wide range of conditions. It prefers reasonably open sites and free-draining soil and should generally be kept away from permanently waterlogged ground and very heavy shade.
📍 Distribution
• Indigenous to New Zealand
• Naturally found on the Kermadec Islands, Three Kings Islands, North, South and Chatham Islands
• Also indigenous to Australia, Tasmania, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and Fiji
🌾 Uses
• Pioneer plantings
• Forest restoration
• Forest margins and underplanting
• Banks and slopes
• Naturalistic native gardens
• Revegetation projects
🪴 Cultivation Notes (Live Plant)
An exceptionally easy and vigorous fern that establishes rapidly under suitable conditions. Shaking Brake tolerates a broad range of environments and can readily self-establish from spores. This makes it valuable for naturalistic and revegetation planting, but it should be given adequate space as it can spread freely and may become weedy in smaller or highly managed gardens.
📏 Approximate product size:
• PB3/4 (5–20 cm, 350 ml)
• PB3 (20–70 cm, 1.5 L)
• PB8 (50 cm+, 3.5 L)
⏱️ Timeframe:
We ship Monday – Wednesday for South Island customers and Monday/Tuesday for Rural and North Island customers. Orders placed outside these days will be fulfilled the following week.
📦 Local pick ups and/or deliveries will be made by arrangement.
🌱 We’ll donate $1 per plant sold to national conservation efforts, helping to protect and restore New Zealand’s natural heritage.
A graceful and fast-growing native fern, Shaking Brake is recognised by its fresh bright-green fronds, which characteristically tremble in even a light breeze. Highly adaptable and quick to establish, it is useful for revegetation, forest margins, banks, and naturalistic native plantings where a vigorous fern is required.
🌱 Plant Facts
• Growth habit: Terrestrial fern with a short, erect stem
• Fronds: Bright green, thin and finely divided
• Leaflets: Overlapping, with free veins that do not form a network
• Distinctive feature: Delicate fronds visibly tremble or shake in a breeze
• Reproduction: Spore producing
• Growth rate: Fast
• Height: Up to 50 cm
🌍 Natural Habitat
• Coastal to montane environments in the northern part of its range
• Open and relatively dry forest
• Native scrub and forest margins
• Tracks and roadsides
• Banks and disturbed ground
• Retaining walls and similar urban habitats
🌿 Growing Environment
• Full sun to partial shade
• Frost tolerant
• Wind tolerant
• Coastal tolerant
• Salt tolerant
• Free-draining soils
An adaptable fern capable of thriving in a wide range of conditions. It prefers reasonably open sites and free-draining soil and should generally be kept away from permanently waterlogged ground and very heavy shade.
📍 Distribution
• Indigenous to New Zealand
• Naturally found on the Kermadec Islands, Three Kings Islands, North, South and Chatham Islands
• Also indigenous to Australia, Tasmania, Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and Fiji
🌾 Uses
• Pioneer plantings
• Forest restoration
• Forest margins and underplanting
• Banks and slopes
• Naturalistic native gardens
• Revegetation projects
🪴 Cultivation Notes (Live Plant)
An exceptionally easy and vigorous fern that establishes rapidly under suitable conditions. Shaking Brake tolerates a broad range of environments and can readily self-establish from spores. This makes it valuable for naturalistic and revegetation planting, but it should be given adequate space as it can spread freely and may become weedy in smaller or highly managed gardens.
📏 Approximate product size:
• PB3/4 (5–20 cm, 350 ml)
• PB3 (20–70 cm, 1.5 L)
• PB8 (50 cm+, 3.5 L)
⏱️ Timeframe:
We ship Monday – Wednesday for South Island customers and Monday/Tuesday for Rural and North Island customers. Orders placed outside these days will be fulfilled the following week.
📦 Local pick ups and/or deliveries will be made by arrangement.
🌱 We’ll donate $1 per plant sold to national conservation efforts, helping to protect and restore New Zealand’s natural heritage.
