Photo credits and licenses
Real photographs from naturalists and photographers worldwide, each used under its own license. Credit: Photo by Alan Weakley / iNaturalist (CC0), Photo by Michael Newlon / iNaturalist (CC BY), Photo by John Fones / iNaturalist (CC0), Photo by John Fones / iNaturalist (CC0), Photo by Sophia M / iNaturalist (CC0) and Photo by Sophia M / iNaturalist (CC0). How photos are sourced →
Cinnamon Fern
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum
Cinnamon Fern is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
Mature size, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not.
Growing Cinnamon Fern
Plant it in part shade. It prefers high water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–9. Expect it to reach about 3.3 ft tall and 2.6 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 3 years.
When to plant Cinnamon Fern
Plant Cinnamon Fern in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. For the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 9 range, spring means March to May and fall means August or September.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar: for the middle of its range, start with zone 6 in March.
Good to know about Cinnamon Fern
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Worth knowing
Its name comes from stiff, erect fertile fronds that turn cinnamon-brown in the center each spring, standing like cinnamon sticks before withering by early summer. per NC State
Zone range varies by source
Sources split on the cold floor: zone 3, a warmer 4, or a colder 2. The native range reaches Newfoundland and Minnesota, so the colder readings are well justified. per Missouri Botanical Garden and NC State
Wants wet feet
A wetland fern that needs constantly moist to wet ground; it scorches if the soil dries out. Ideal for rain gardens and damp, shaded low spots. per Clemson
Sun depends on moisture
How much sun it takes is really a moisture question: it accepts more sun only where soil stays reliably wet, and scorches in dry ground or hot sun. per NC State
Deer and pest resistant
Highly resistant to deer, tolerates rabbits and even black walnut, and has essentially no serious insect or disease problems, so it needs almost no spraying. per NC State and Missouri Botanical Garden
Slow clumper, not a runner
It builds a stout crown on compact rhizomes and expands only slowly, forming colonies gently in wet ground rather than running aggressively like ostrich fern. per Native Plant Trust
What pairs well with Cinnamon Fern
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Christmas Fern
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; lower at 1.6 ft, for the front of the border; both are native plants.
Eastern Hemlock
Shares part shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; both are native plants.
Wild Ginger
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; low at 6 in, to carpet the ground beneath; both are native plants.
Bergenia
Takes part sun to part shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; lower at 1.3 ft, for the front of the border.
Autumn Fern
Shares part shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; lower at 1.6 ft, for the front of the border.
Holly Fern
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; lower at 1.6 ft, for the front of the border.
Japanese Forest Grass
Shares part shade and moderate to high water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; lower at 1.3 ft, for the front of the border.
Hellebore
Shares part shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; lower at 1.3 ft, for the front of the border.
Explore similar plants
You might also like
Foliage
FoliageFoliageFoliage
Foliage
FoliageDesign a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.