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Ferns

Type Botanical Name Native Common Name Description Height Light Req. Zone Add to My List
Fern ADIANTUM pedatum Northern Maidenhair Fern

Our lovely native Maidenhair fern of delicate form and texture. Young fiddlehead emerge pink in spring. Protect from afternoon sun/heat.

18-24 inches Part Shade/Shade 4
Fern ASPLENIUM scolopendrium Hart's Tongue Fern

A rhizomatous, evergreen fern with arching, tongue-shaped, leathery, bright green fronds, often with wavy margins. Provide medium moisture and good drainage. Rabbit resistant.

1-1.5 feet Part Shade/Shade 5
Fern ATHYRIUM filix-femina Lady Fern

Finely textured fern with lacy, arching fronds. Tolerates dry sites and some sun.

2-3 feet Part Shade/Shade 3
Fern ATHYRIUM filix-femina ‘Victoriae’ Lady Fern

Narrow fronds with a distinctive crossing pattern formed by the pinnae.

2-3 feet Part Shade/Shade 4
Fern ATHYRIUM ‘Ghost’ Painted Fern

A cross of Lady Fern and Japanese Painted Fern, clump-forming and upright with silvery gray foliage. Can tolerate dry shade conditions.

22-24 inches Part Shade/Shade 4
Fern ATHYRIUM niponicum ‘Pictum’ Japanese Painted Fern

Silvery-grey fronds which are dusty purple towards the center. Rabbit resistant.

12-18 inches Part Shade/Shade 3
Fern ATHYRIUM niponicum ‘Red Beauty’ Japanese Painted Fern

Fronds mottled silver, red and green with contrasting red stems. Rabbit resistant.

12-18 inches Part Shade/Shade 4
Fern ATHYRIUM niponicum ‘Regal Red’ Japanese Painted Fern

Twisted silver fronds centered in deep violet-red are quite striking.

12-18 inches Part Shade/Shade 4
Fern ATHYRIUM niponicum ‘Silver Falls’ Japanese Painted Fern

Long, arching, silver fronds veined in red-purple.  

12-18 inches Part Shade/Shade
Fern BLECHNUM brasiliense crispum Red Leaf Tree Fern

New growth on this tree fern is bright red then as leaves mature they fade to light green.

30-36" Part Shade/Shade Overwinter Indoors
Fern DENNSTAEDTIA punctilobula Hay-scented Fern

Spreading to create an emerald green ground cover. Vigorous deciduous fern for dry or wet locations. Will tolerate sun or shade. Soft yellow-green fronds turn yellow in fall. The fronds release the scent of new mown hay when crushed.  

18-24 inches Part Shade/Shade 3
Fern DRYOPTERIS championii Champion’s Wood Fern

Dark green, glossy, leathery fronds are evergreen. Arching and erect habit through the winter.

1-3 feet Part Shade/Shade 5
Fern DRYOPTERIS erythrosora Autumn Fern

A colorful fern with arching fronds that emerge in spring flushed with copper and bronze, then maturing to a shiny deep green.

12-24" Part Shade/Shade 5
Fern DRYOPTERIS erythrosora ‘Brilliance’ Autumn Fern

Coppery new growth, green in summer, then red in fall.  Fronds are arching to 2 feet and semi-evergreen in the north.

28-30 inches Part Shade/Shade 5
Fern DRYOPTERIS goldiana Goldie’s Fern

A bold, fast-growing fern with large, triangular fronds.

3-4 feet Part Shade/Shade 3
Fern DRYOPTERIS marginalis Leather Wood Fern

Easy to grow native with erect, arching dark green fronds.  Evergreen.

18-30 inches Part Shade/Shade 2
Fern DRYOPTERIS wallichiana ‘Jurassic Gold’ Male Fern

Young shoots emerge orange then mature to golden-yellow, eventually turning light green; brightening up even the darkest landscapes.

18-24" Part Shade/Shade 5
Fern DRYOPTERIS australis Dixie Wood Fern

Tall and slender-growing with continuously emerging, lustrous semi-evergreen fronds. Rabbit resistant.

4-5 feet Part Shade/Shade 5
Fern MATTEUCCIA struthiopteris Ostrich Fern

Large-growing native “fiddlehead fern”, prized by foragers for the edible new growth. Likes moist places along edge of woods.

3-4 feet Part Shade/Shade 3
Annual NEPHROLEPIS cordifolia ‘Lemon Button’ Boston Fern

Resilient and un-finicky for a Boston fern; small size is great for growing indoors; leaves give off a faint lemony scent during the spring and summer.

12 inches Part Shade/Shade Tropical
Annual NEPHROLEPIS exaltata ‘Tiger’ Boston Fern

A Boston fern with dark green foliage streaked with chartreuse.

16-18 inches Part Shade/Shade Tropical
Annual NEPHROLEPIS obliterata ‘Kimberly Queen’ Australian Sword Fern

A vigorous upright-growing fern that will tolerate full sun.

2-4 feet Sun/Part Shade/Shade Tropical
Fern OSMUNDA cinnamomea Cinnamon Fern

A large-growing fern with cinnamon-colored fertile fronds. Rabbit resistant.

2-4 feet Part Shade/Shade 3
Fern OSMUNDA regalis Royal Fern

Huge graceful fronds with widely spaced segments. Grows along water. Rabbit resistant.

2-4 feet Part Shade/Shade 3
Fern PLATYCERIUM veitchii Lemoinei French Staghorn Fern

Longer fronds than most staghorn ferns with the same silver fuzz coating each frond.

16-20" Part Shade/Shade Overwinter Indoors
Fern POLYSTICHUM acrostichoides Christmas Fern

A native, evergreen, very adaptable fern. Attractive pinnate fronds. Deer/rabbit resistant.

12-24 inches Part Shade/Shade 3
Annual PTERIS cretica ‘Albo-lineata’ Variegated Brake Fern

Small, delicate fern with gray-green margins on silver fronds.

18-24 inches Part Shade/Shade Tropical
Fern THELYPTERIS novaboracensis New York Fern

Soft, finely textured fern crows in clumps but can multiply quickly forming dense colonies. Deer resistant.

12-24 inches Part Shade/Shade 3