Ferns make great garden plants. They not only add character and beauty to your outdoor space but enhance your home’s curb appeal. These low maintenances, easy-to-grow plants can thrive in low-light conditions and be used in shaded home gardens.
If you’re planning to add ferns to your garden, you should choose ones that can tolerate winter’s cold, since the weather is getting chillier by the day.
Here are the easiest ferns to grow in winter.
Gardening Tips: Best Ferns That Can Survive in Winter
Are you looking for hardy ferns that are tolerant of cold temperatures? Our lawn irrigation experts have come up with a list of beautiful and low-maintenance ferns that are ideal for enhancing the visual appeal of your garden in winter.
1) Northern Maidenhair (Adiantum pedatum)
The northern or common maidenhair fern is a deciduous perennial fern native to regions of North America. It features black shiny stems and bright green fronds spreading horizontally in a circular pattern. This fern is a lover of partial or full shade and likes moderately fertile, moist, well-drained soil, but can withstand some drought. It spreads slowly via creeping rhizomes to form large colonies and grows up to 12 to 30 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches wide.
2) Golden-Scaled Male Fern (Dryopteris affinis)
The golden-scaled male fern is an evergreen plant shaped like a vase. This robust fern is native to western and southern Europe and south-western Asia. It remains green through winter and enhances the appearance of any garden with its golden scales and dark-green foliage. This plant can grow up to 4 feet high.
3) Japanese Painted Fern (Athyriumniponicum ‘Pictum’)
Add colours to your winter garden with a Japanese Painted fern. It features a mix of silvery-grey, green and burgundy on dark purple stems. Like most ferns, this variety also likes moist soil, needs light to full shade, and can grow up to 15 inches tall. Once established, this hardy fern can tolerate drought. Its unique and intricate texture and colour make it stand out in the world of greens as the leaves look hand-painted. It’s advisable to plant them in groups to magnify their beauty.
4) Western Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum)
The Western Sword fern is an evergreen fern native to western North America. It is one of the most robust and reliable ferns on this list because of its ability to keep its foliage throughout winter. It can grow glossy deep-green fronds up to 4 feet tall. This highly versatile and useful perennial is perfect for a home garden and appreciates indirect light, evenly moist soil, and humidity. However, once it gets accustomed to the garden, it can become sturdy and easy to care for.
5) Soft Shield Fern (Polystichum setiferum)
The evergreen soft shield fern remains lush and fresh-looking in every season. It features lance-shaped, bipinnate, medium green fronds that grow in shuttlecock form up to 3 feet tall. This plant prefers limey soil, good drainage and an airy position. Its intricate leaves and bristly stems are great for adding texture and visual interest to your garden in the chilly weather. The best thing about this beautiful fern is that its leaves will endure all winter long.
6) Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea)
The cinnamon fern is a statuesque, winter-hardy, long-lived plant that thrives in a shaded garden but can tolerate filtered sunlight. It has erect dark-green fronds surrounding fertile fronds that mature to a cinnamon brown. The plant can reach a height of 5 feet or more, with two types of fronds that have distinctly different colours and textures. This attractive fern adds a unique interest to your garden in an otherwise dull winter landscape.
Ferns are a great addition to any garden. Although they don’t produce flowers, fruits or seeds, they enhance the visual appeal of your garden with their lush green appearance and intricate texture. When the temperature drops, beautiful blooms and seasonal plants die, but winter-hardy ferns will continue to accentuate your garden. Consider adding one or more of these low-maintenance ferns to your garden and make this outdoor space look remarkable in winter.