Athyrium filix-femina

Description: One of the prettiest of the hardy ferns, lady fern has delicate, lacy, fresh-green ladder-like foliage. In late spring and early summer the new leaves unfurl from tight coils into fresh green erect and arching leaves.

Uses: Good in cool shady corners with other hardy ferns and other shade and moisture-loving perennials of spring interest, and for group planting in woodland sites.  Also effective as a low growing ground cover among rhododendrons and camellias and even as a marginal plant for bogs/ponds and in pots and tubs in the shade.

Climate/Position: Prefers a cool lightly shaded site. Will grow in full sun if given plenty of moisture.

Height/Spread: 120cm x 60cm

Soil Requirements: Plant in moist neutral to acid soil.

Pruning: Removal of dead fronds in autumn or late winter.

Special Requirements: Slow to emerge in Spring so have patience with their late development.

Additional Interest: The naturally occurring species of Athyrium filix-femina has one of the widest plant distributions around the world being found in Europe, Asia and North America and so demonstrates its early evolution.