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 |