Maidenhair Fern
Adiantum
Maidenhair 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 Maidenhair Fern
Plant it in full shade. It prefers high water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–8. Expect it to reach about 1.3 ft tall and 1.3 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 3 years.
When to plant Maidenhair Fern
Plant Maidenhair 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 8 range, spring means April to June 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 5 in April.
Good to know about Maidenhair Fern
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Worth knowing
The whole plant hangs on one trait: thin, wiry, polished black stems fork and fan out light-green leaflets in horseshoe whorls. That dark wire against airy foliage names the fern. per Mt. Cuba
Soil pH: sources disagree
Some sources call it acidic-preferring, others neutral to fully adaptable. In practice it is pH-adaptable, so give it humus-rich soil and steady moisture and stop worrying about pH. per NC State
Fronds crisp if they dry
Dry soil, hot sun, low humidity, or wind each brown the delicate fronds, sometimes within a day. A dieback in a dry spell usually returns next season. per Wisconsin
Deer and rabbit resistant
Rated highly resistant to deer and seldom browsed by rabbits, which makes it a graceful hosta alternative for shade beds that deer keep chewing. per Clemson
It dies back each winter
Deciduous, not evergreen: fronds yellow and die to the ground in autumn, and new pink-to-purple fiddleheads unfurl in spring. Cut old fronds before they emerge. per NC State
Slow, well-behaved spreader
It creeps slowly by rhizomes into graceful colonies, not an aggressive runner like ostrich fern. Lift and divide established clumps in spring to make more. per NC State
What pairs well with Maidenhair 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.
Northern Sea Oats
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; taller at 3.3 ft, for the layer behind it; both are native plants.
Rhododendron
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; taller at 5.9 ft, for the layer behind it.
Christmas Fern
Shares full shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; both are native plants.
Autumn Fern
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Holly Fern
Shares full shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Summersweet
Takes part shade to full shade and high water; taller at 5.9 ft, for the layer behind it; both are native plants.
Camellia
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; taller at 6.6 ft, for the layer behind it; they only overlap in zones 7 to 8.
Hellebore
Takes part shade to full shade and moderate to high water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
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