The fronds unfurl in spring at the foot of trees, disappear entirely through winter, and return unharmed after the coldest weather: the lady-fern (Athyrium filix-femina) is one of the few ferns genuinely at home in deep forest shade. Keep it out of the sun and it asks for practically no care, the darkest corners giving the most beautiful leaves.
| Name | Athyrium filix-femina and other species |
|---|---|
| Family | Dryopteridaceae |
| Type | perennial |
| Height | 12 to 16 inches (30 to 120 cm) |
| Exposure | shade and part shade |
| Soil | ordinary |
Outdoors, often in forest underbrush, it makes for very easy care and growing.
Planting is either in fall or in spring but avoid frost spells and high temperatures.
For this, use adequate potting soil mixed into your earth and pour a bed of clay pebbles along the bottom to increase drainage.
The propagation of athyrium is through crown division in spring.
Almost everything this fern asks for happens in two short windows. Here is the whole calendar on one line each.
| Task | Season | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Planting in the ground | Early autumn or mid-spring | Avoid frost spells and high temperatures; add potting soil and a drainage bed of clay pebbles |
| Repotting | Spring, every 2 or 3 years | Move to a pot slightly larger across each time |
| Propagating | Spring | Divide the crown |
| Mulching | Summer | Mulch the base of the plant to keep the soil moist |
| Cutting back | As fronds die off | Cut dried or yellowed leaves one at a time; use the cut scapes as leaf mulch |
| Winter rest | Winter | Nothing to do: the foliage vanishes and regrows in spring |
Outside these few moments, athyrium looks after itself.
Cut dried or yellowed leaves as they die off, one at a time, but it’s ok if you don’t do this. Cut fern scapes make for excellent leaf mulch for plants with more vulnerable roots because they insulate but still let the soil breathe.
Apart from this, athyrium requires practically no care or maintenance.
In summer, you might mulch the base of the plant to keep the soil moist.
In winter, the foliage will disappear, but fear not: it will start growing back in spring. Athyrium is very hardy and resists the coldest of winters.
This lady fern has the rare trait of being very comfortable in dark forest settings at the foot of trees.
Once it has started growing somewhere, it is very difficult to tear it out because roots are tightly welded to its growing medium.
Note that the darker the shade it is under, the slower its growth; but its leaves are then all the more beautiful.
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Both indoors in a pot and outdoors in the ground, avoid excessively sunny locations.
Two corrections: lady fern is not evergreen. I don’t think that any ferns in its family are.
Additionally, depending on the species, these get much larger than stated. The native Pacific Northwest variety can easily grow to 6′ tall and 4′ wide. That said, they’re great and ready to grow.
You’re right! I guess I meant it grew back after dying off, but it was misleading so I corrected the article. As for size, it absolutely depends on how much soil it has. For many who grow it indoors it luckily doesn’t grow as large as what you shared. Thanks a lot for your comment!