Athyrium filix-femina
Lady Fern
- Type
- Fern
- Hardiness
- USDA Zones 4–9
- Sun
- Part Shade, Full Shade
- Soil
- Moist, Well-drained
- Mature size
- Height 18–30 Inches · Spread 1–2 Feet
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Seasonality
- Dies back
This variety is no actively in production in our propagation house and may not return to our catalogue. We maintain this page purely for reference and archival purposes. If you would like to grow this plant, tell us. Your interest helps guide what we bring back.
For a larger installation or commercial project, write hello@woodlanders.net.
Lady fern is one of the easiest and most graceful of the deciduous ferns, a soft, lacy fountain of finely divided, light green fronds that rise in a loose clump from spring into fall. Athyrium filix-femina brings a fresh, feathery texture to the shade garden and asks almost nothing in return.
Widespread across the temperate Northern Hemisphere, including much of North America (the southern lady fern, var. asplenioides, is native to the eastern United States), lady fern thrives in shade or part shade in humus-rich, moist soil. Quick to establish and quick to fill in, the fern spreads gently into a soft colony and shrugs off the conditions of a typical woodland floor.
Plant lady fern in a shaded border, a woodland bed, a streamside, or any cool, moist, shady spot, lovely massed or woven among hostas, hellebores, and wildflowers. The lacy fronds soften bolder leaves and brighten a dim corner, and deer generally leave the foliage alone. Cut spent fronds back in late winter before the new ones unfurl.
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