Often overlooked and underused, ferns can fill many roles in the garden. In shady or wet conditions that may be unsuitable for other plants there are ferns that will thrive. Many can provide a lush tropical foliage effect that's hard to accomplish with hardy plants, and add subtle color and bold texture in shade. Some make great groundcovers for a woodland setting, and some are evergreen or semi-evergreen, providing an extended season of interest.

Adiantum pedatum

Maidenhair Fern                                Zone 3

Graceful native fern with soft textured horseshoe shaped leaves held upon wiry, ebony stems.

Height: 12-24"  Space: 12-24"

Athyrium filix-femina

Lady Fern           Zone 4

Very adaptable deciduous native species grows well in open or dense woodland. Some drought tolerance.

Height: 18-30"  Space: 14-18"

Athyrium filix-femina Dre's Dagger

Lady Fern           Zone 4

Smaller sport of A. Victoriae, this variety has the same criss-cross patterned leaflets with crested tips. Attention getting fern.

Height: 16-18"  Space: 12-18"

Photo courtesy Terra Nova Nurseries

Athyrium filix-femina Frizelliae

Tatting Fern           Zone 4

Tough, easy to grow beauty with lacy, light green leaflets held on upright, brilliant red-violet stems. Native species cultivar.

Height: 18-30"   Space: 18-24" 

Athyrium filix-femina Lady In Red

Lady Fern           Zone 4

Tough, easy to grow beauty with lacy, light green leaflets held on upright, brilliant red-violet stems. Native species cultivar.

Height: 18-30"  Space: 18-24"

 Athyrium filix-femina Victoriae

Lady Fern                               Zone 4

Fine textured, graceful fern with arching upright fronds bearing forked, criss-crossed leaflets. Dramatic.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 12-24"   Space: 14-18"

Athyrium niponicum Pictum

Japanese Painted Fern                   Zone 5

2004 Perennial of the Year. Airy, silvery- gray, metallic looking fronds highlighted by garnet veins and stems. Texture and color.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 12-18"  Spread: 18-24"

Athyrium niponicum pictum Burgundy Lace

Japanese Painted Fern                   Zone 5

New fronds emerge rich deep burgundy with silver stripes along veins and at leaf tips, aging to silvery green with purple midribs.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 15-18"  Spread: 18-24"

Photo courtesy Terra Nova Nurseries

Athyrium niponicum pictum Ocean's Fury

Japanese Painted Fern                   Zone 5

Unique selection with strong upright habit. Pewter to gray-green fronds are crested at the tip of each leaflet. Reddish rachis.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 24-36"  Spread: 18-24"

Photo courtesy Terra Nova Nurseries

Athyrium niponicum pictum Regal Red

Japanese Painted Fern                   Zone 5

Selected for improved color with dark violet leaf center and brighter silver edges, with a slight twist to the pinnules (leaflets).

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 12-18"  Spread: 18-24"

Athyrium otophorum Okanum

Eared Lady Fern                         Zone 3

Compact, delicate and graceful. Burgundy, black-scaled fiddleheads unfurl to silvery blue-green leaves.

Light to Moderate Shade

Height: 12-18"  Space: 12-16"

Athyrium Branford Beauty

Lady Fern        Zone 4

Cross between Lady and Japanese Painted ferns with strong rigid, upright habit. Silver gray fronds on dark reddish stems.

Height: 24"  Space: 24"

Photo courtesy Walters Gardens, Inc.

Athyrium Ghost 

Lady Fern                            Zone 4

Strong performing, attractive fern with ghostly, silvery-gray leaflets on semi-upright stems. Long-lived.

Height: 18-30"  Space: 14-18"

Photo courtesy Walters Gardens, Inc.

Cheilanthes lanosa         

Hairy Lip Fern                          Zone 5

Soft-textured, fuzzy green leaflets on a chestnut brown stipe. Great in rock walls, shady troughs or as groundcover.

Full Sun to Moderate Shade

Height: 6-8"   Space: 12-15"

Cyrtomium fortunei

Fortune's or Korean Holly Fern          Zone 5

Very hardy evergreen fern appears tropical. Shiny, yellow-green, untoothed leaflets on jet black leafstalks.

Light to Moderate Shade

Height: 18-30"   Space: 18-24"

Deparia pycnosora         

Tapering Glade Fern, Big Brother Fern   Zone 4

A deciduous colonizing species with light green, graceful, airy fronds. Great ground- cover. Mature fronds turn nice russet color.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 24-48"   Space: 24-30"

Dryopteris affinis

Golden-Scaled Male Fern                 Zone 4

Arching, leathery, deep green fronds unfurl from light green fiddleheads. Golden-brown, furry scales on stems.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 24-36"   Space: 18-30"

Dryopteris affinis Angustata Crispa

Narrow Crested Fern                     Zone 4

Has a neat, tidy, vase shaped habit that makes it look like a bouquet of frilly green foliage. Clump forming.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 12-16"   Space: 12-18"

Dryopteris affinis The King

Golden-Scaled Male Fern                 Zone 4

Arching, leathery, deep green fronds up to 3 feet long have crested tips. Golden-brown, furry scales on stems.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 24-36"   Space: 18-30"

Dryopteris atrata

Shaggy Shield Fern, Black Wood Fern        Zone 5

Stiff, leathery, semi-wintergreen, goldish-green fronds with a feather- shaped outline. Hairy black stems.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 18-24"   Space: 18-24"

Dryopteris crassirhizoma

Thick-stemmed Wood Fern                 Zone 4

Imposing with it's tall stature, erect, vase-shaped habit and coarse tetured semi-wintergreen fronds.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 24-42"   Space: 30-36"

Dryopteris dilatata Crispa Whiteside

Broad Buckler Fern                      Zone 5

Mid-sized fern with extremely lacy textured foliage. Broad flat leaves are soft and inviting to the touch.

Light to Moderate Shade

Height: 12-18"  Space: 24-30"

Dryopteris erythrosora Brilliance

Autumn Fern                             Zone 5

Young leaves are lustrous, golden orange enlarging to rich green. In fall plant takes on hues of red and orange.

Light to Moderate Shade

Height: 18-24"   Space: 15-18"

Dryopteris filix-mas Parsley

Male Fern                               Zone 4

Richly ruffled, deep green fronds look like crisp parsley throughout the growing season. Clump forming.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 18"   Space: 14-18"

Dryopteris filix-mas Undulata Robusta

Robust Male Fern                        Zone 4

Strong grower displays wavy edged sturdy semi-evergreen fronds up to 3 feet long. Clump forming.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 18-36"  Space: 18-30"

Dryopteris labordei Golden Mist         

Wood Fern                               Zone 5

Similar to Autumn Fern, but larger and with more open habit. New growth emerges glowing golden yellow, maturing to deep green.

Light to Moderate Shade

Height: 20-24"   Space: 24"

Photo courtesy Walters Gardens, Inc.

Dryopteris marginalis

Marginal Shield Fern                    Zone 3

Michigan native forms tidy ever- green clumps. Tolerant of dry shade. Great accent or ground cover.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 12-18"   Space: 18-24"

Dryopteris oreades

Dwarf Male Fern, Mountain Male Fern     Zone 4

Very similar to male fern with a narrower frond on smaller plant. Forms upright, shuttle-cock like clumps. Semi-evergreen.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 18-24"   Space: 24"

Dryopteris pseudo-filix-mas

Mexican Wood Fern                       Zone 3

Vigorous species forms tight clumps of upright foliage. This large fern produces new fronds all season.

Full Sun to Moderate Shade

Height: 30-42"   Space: 24-36"

Dryopteris tokyoensis

Tokyo Wood Fern                         Zone 5

Deciduous fronds are held stiffly upright giving the plant a tighter, narrower more vertical habit. Vigorous growth rate.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 18-36"   Space: 18-24"

Dryopteris x remota

Scaly Buckler Fern, Remote Wood Fern    Zone 4

Tough, semi-evergreen and fairly drought tolerant. Graceful, finely dissected fronds are held horizontally. May colonize.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 24"   Space: 18-24"

Gymnocarpium dryopteris Plumosa   

Plumose Oak Fern                        Zone 3

A dainty, spreading fern with light green fronds held horizontally on thin wiry stipes. Drought tolerant.

Light to Moderate Shade

Height: 4-8"  Space: 12"

Matteuccia struthiopteris pennsylvanica

Ostrich Fern                            Zone 2

Native species is tall, tough, hardy and graceful. Excellent in large sweeps as groundcover. Spreading habit.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 3-5'   Space: 24-30"

Matteuccia struthiopteris The King

Ostrich Fern                            Zone 2

Spreading native species. Tall, tough, hardy and graceful. This selection produces larger than usual fronds in vase-shaped clumps.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 3-5'  Space: 24-30"

Onoclea sensibilis

Sensitive Fern                          Zone 3

Large, coarse, deeply lobed light green leaves. Likes it moist. Beaded fertile fronds add interest.

Full Sun to Dense Shade

Height: 2-3'   Space: 12-18"

Osmunda cinnamomea

Cinnamon Fern                           Zone 3

Tall, cinnamon brown fertile fronds are reminiscent of cinnamon sticks. Native that loves moist soil.

Full Sun to Dense Shade

Height: 2-5'   Space: 18-24"

Osmunda claytoniana

Interrupted Fern                        Zone 3

Native with the unusual habit of producing brown fertile leaflets amid the green leaflets of the same frond.

Full Sun to Dense Shade

Height: 24-48"   Space: 18-24"

Osmunda regalis

Royal Fern                              Zone 3

Heavily divided leaves giving leaves a honey locust look, emerge wine-red and mature to green. Moist, acidic soil.

Full Sun to Dense Shade

Height: 2-5'   Space: 24-30"

Polypodium vulgare Bifidomultifidum

Crested Polypody Fern                   Zone 5

Spreads to form nice thick, well behaved groundcover. Dark green, leathery fronds like double-sided combs with crested tips.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 10-12"  Space: 18-20"

Polystichum acrostichoides

Christmas Fern                          Zone 3

Native fern with leathery, dark green fronds. Silvery-gray fiddle- heads in spring. Slow spreading.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 18-24"  Space: 15-24"

Polystichum aculeatum

Hard Shield Fern                        Zone 4

Evergreen clumper with shiny arching fronds. Easy to grow. Thrives in dense shade. Great specimen or accent.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 24"  Space: 16-24"

Polystichum polyblepharum

Japanese Tassel Fern                    Zone 5

Dark green, finely divided fronds arching outward in a vase-like shape. Attractive bristly scales decorate base and stems.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 18-24"  Space: 12-18"

Polystichum Shiny Holly

Shiny Holly Fern                        Zone 5

Lustrous, dark green leaves are like plastic. Coarse, upright habit. An easy specimen, companion or groundcover.

Light to Dense Shade

Height: 18-24"  Space: 15-24"

Photo courtesy Terra Nova Nurseries

Thelypteris decursive-pinnata

Japanese Beech Fern                     Zone 4

Strong upright grower with vibrant green, feather-shaped semi-evergreen foliage. Great edger or groundcover.

Light to Moderate Shade

Height: 12-18"  Space: 15-24"

Woodwardia virginica                             

Virginia Chain Fern                     Zone 3

Native fern that thrives under wet conditions, spreading quickly. Works well under normal garden conditions.

Light to Moderate Shade

Height: 18-24"  Space: 24"