Japanese Painted Fern - Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum'
One of the most colorful plants you can introduce to your garden, plus it's easy to grow and deer resistant.
| Japanese Painted Fern | Perennial |
|---|---|
| Bloom Time | Late Summer to Fall |
| Light | Part Sun To Full Shade |
| Water | Average to Rich -Moist |
| Diseases | Rust |
| Pests | Relatively Pest Free |
| Propagation | Divisions, Spores |
| Color | Brown Fronds |
| Zones | 4 - 9 |
| Features | Attractive Foliage,Tolerates Wet Soil,Easy to Grow |
Japanese Painted Fern: PPA plant of the year 2004 and a 'Great Plant Pick'. The wide range of colors in this fern make it a garden designer's dream.
Very attractive foliage that has everything from silver to gray, burgundy to red, greens, purples and even black variegation while the stems are maroon.
Colors get showier with each year of maturity and would brighten up any shady corner. Follow that up with no pest or disease problems, heat and humidity tolerant, and how can you live without it?
With their exquisite foliage and lacy low-growing habit, the Japanese Painted Fern is a plant that you will definitely want to show off in your border.
I planted a bed of these beauties right next to a shady garden path and used the bed as a ground cover type application.
These ferns are very easy to grow if you give them the shade that they need and plenty of moisture. While they will tolerate some drought conditions, it will definitely takes it toll on the plant, with brown fronds and limited growth.
The purple stems and muted green to silver green fronds evokes the tranquility of its native Oriental gardens.
The Japanese Painted Ferns is a relatively low-grower reaching up to 18" at the most. More typically they will grow to the 10" to 12" range unless given ideal conditions.
Another nice feature of these plants is that they tend to be deer resistant, which is always nice in a wooded garden. I am always looking for deer resistant plants because my year is just full of deer and they don't bother the Japanese Ferns.
This is one of the most colorful foliage plants that you can plant in your garden and it should be showcased in a propionate location.
As soon as they are ripe, sow spores at 70F (21C) for tender species; for hardy species, sow at 59-61F (15-16C).
In early spring, divide and repot clumps of rhizomes.
Japanese Painted Fern: Japanese Painted Fern, Japanese Lady Fern - Beautiful perennial. Emerging fronds metallic gray with reddish/bluish blush.
Mature fronds hold color but contrast with emerging fronds. Very cold hardy. Winter dormant. Spacing: 10 - 14 inches, deer resistant. Prefers medium-wet to wet soil moisture. Moderate growth rate.
Lady's Mantle:
Contrast fern's fine-textured foliage with the bigger, rounded lady's mantle leaves..
Lungwort:
The silver speckles on lungwort leaves are an attractive complement to the silver shades of Japanese painted fern fronds
Ajuga:
The colors of Burgundy Glow ajuga are a perfect match for the silvers, burgundies, and greens in Japanese painted fern
Japanese Painted Fern: The fronds of this fern are as colorful as flowers. Their intricate patterns of silvery lacy fronds on deep green, accented with reddish stems, provide a dash of light in a shady corner.
These ferns make an ideal ground cover along shady garden paths. This will fill-in solid and not allow weed growth and as a bonus, they are deer resistant, which I treasure in the woods settings.
Try planting them along water features. They love the wet conditions and look great with rush plants, hosta and iris, which also crave the damp soils and shady conditions.
These ferns are very well behaved and not at all invasive. In fact you will welcome some volunteers in the garden so you can start another bed of these incredibility beautiful plants.
Another difficult area to plant many perennials is beneath solid canopy trees. Plant the fern in these conditions and you will see it thrive.
Try planting this plant as part of an entire fern bed, consisting of several different fern species, textures, colors and sizes. Keep this one close to the front as it is does not attain the height of many other fern species.
Japanese Painted Fern: This is a deciduous fern that has fronds with purplish red stalks and silvery-gray segments that sometimes flush to purple-red.
This plant has a creeping habit and makes a good tough groundcover. These ferns are most definitely shade loving plants that require adequate, if not more than adequate, amounts of water for best performance in the landscape. Zone 4-9.
Spacing: Space 18" to 24" apart when planting.
Fertilizer: During the growing season, apply a half-strength fertilizer monthly.
Water/Soil Requirements: Needs regular to ample water. Does best with moist, fertile, neutral to acidic soil.
Make sure to enrich soil with leaf mold or compost. During the growing season, water freely; sparingly in winter.
Pruning: Only clean up dead fronds in the fall. Otherwise no maintenance is required for this plant
Bare Root Plants: How to plant bare root plants
Buying Plants OnLine: How to purchase plants on the Internet:
Perennial Flower Beds: Learn all of the secrets to planting the perfect perennial bed
Dividing Perennials: How to divide perennials.
Dividing Plants: How to divide all sorts of garden plants.
Cutting Garden: How to grow a cutting garden.
Flower Bed Care: Keep your flower borders looking like a pro with our green tips.
