Christmas Fern is my definite go-to for moist, well-drained shade. It's beautiful in a forest setting or underneath deciduous trees with its dark-green foliage. Its name comes from its ability to remain green throughout the holidays.
Christmas Fern works well along walls or foundations, especially as an evergreen front for deciduous shrubs. It also looks lovely on slopes when planted en masse.
Christmas Fern is non-spreading and clump-forming, reproducing via spores. Among other virtues, it is an important winter food source for ruffed grouse.
Fun fact: Songbirds use parts of this fern for building their nests.
Photos: Creative Commons; 3rd photo: Cranbrook Science
Fern, Christmas
SKU: PA01-SS
$15.00Price
1 Quart
- Latin: Polystichum acrostichoides
- Pollinator value: Low
- Wetland status: FACU
- Height: 2-3 feet; grows in clumps of 1- to 2-foot spread
- Spacing: 1-2 feet
- Light: Full to part shade
- Soil: Medium to dry
- Leaf: Evergreen; silvery new fronds appear in spring
- Landscape uses: Evergreen; good in shade gardens and as a border, accent and groundcover.
- Deer resistance: Yes