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 | ADIANTUM venustum | Himalayan Maidenhair Fern | Dwarf fern with triangular arching fronds on black stems. Easy to grow, it spreads slowly to make a lovely colony. |
8-10 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 ‘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 ‘Godzilla’ | Japanese Painted Fern | Like A. ‘Pictum on steroids! Discovered at Plant Delights Nursery, it forms a massive arching clump of silvery foliage. |
36 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 var. pictum ‘Metallicum’ | Japanese Painted Fern | Silvery-grey fronds, almost metallic with burgundy and green highlights. |
12-24 inches | Part Shade/Shade | 4 | ||
Fern | ATHYRIUM niponicum ‘Pearly White’ | Japanese Painted Fern | Fronds have light green edges centered in luminescent silvery white. Deer/rabbit resistant. |
14-18 inches | Part Shade/Shade | 4 | ||
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 affinis ‘Cristata the King’ | Crested Male Fern | Gracefully arched fronds curled at the tips. Very handsome. Deer/rabbit resistant. |
36-42 inches | Part Shade/Shade | 4 | ||
Fern | DRYOPTERIS cycadina | Shaggy Shield Fern | Semi-evergreen forming lance shaped and bright green fronds. |
1-3' | 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 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 claytonia | Interrupted Fern | An adaptable broad leaf fern with vase shaped habit. Fronds are “interrupted” in the middle by spore-bearing leaflets tan in color. 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 | POLYSTICHUM acrostichoides | Christmas Fern | A native, evergreen, very adaptable fern. Attractive pinnate fronds. Deer/rabbit resistant. |
12-24 inches | Part Shade/Shade | 3 | ||
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 |