Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Fern A Hardy Plant

from Cooperative Extension Service

University of Arkansas

The burgundy and silver stripes of the Japanese painted fern may leave other ferns green with envy.

"This fern, native to Japan, is the most popular hardy fern in American gardens and seems to be one that growers simply can't produce enough of," says Dr. Gerald Klingaman, horticulture specialist with the Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas.

The painted fern grows to 16 inches tall and wide with feather-like, finely cut fronds to 18 inches long.

"The new frond and midvein are suffused with wine-red coloration that gradually changes to white on the serrated pinna, or leaflet," Klingaman says. "This leaf coloring makes the Japanese Painted Fern ideally suited to the dark woodland garden where it stands out like a beacon."

The Japanese painted fern should be given a shaded, well drained site where it can be watered during dry spells. It's best grown in neutral to slightly acid soils and fertilized very sparingly, if at all. Plant about 2 feet apart.

"The clumps will gradually enlarge to fill in the space, but it will take a of couple years. If given a good location, clumps will live for years," Klingaman says.

The species is hardy to Zone 5 north and dies to the ground each winter. It returns with its fronds in mid spring.