Illustration
Western Maidenhair Fern
Adiantum aleuticum
Western Maidenhair Fern is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Western Maidenhair Fern
Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–8. Expect it to reach about 24 in tall and 24 in wide at maturity, in roughly 3 years (a house reading).
Pets
- Not yet checked for pets.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
No toxicity note is on file for Western Maidenhair Fern. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Western Maidenhair Fern
Plant Western 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. In zone 5, the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 8, spring means April to June and fall means August or September.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 5, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 5 in April. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Western Maidenhair Fern get?
24 intall5 ft 7 inan adult24 inwideSee Western Maidenhair Fern in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Western Maidenhair Fern
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Space Western Maidenhair Fern about 24 in apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.
Add Western Maidenhair Fern to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Western Maidenhair Fern's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags were checked against 8 published sources on November 5, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources. Bloom was checked as well: Western Maidenhair Fern bears no flowers, so there is no bloom window for a source to carry.
- secretgardengrowers.comSecret Garden Growersheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags
- briggsnursery.comBriggs Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and water
- hardyferns.orgHardy Fern Foundationheight, hardiness zones, sun, water and trait tags
- calfloranursery.comCalifornia Flora Nurseryheight, spread, sun and water
- RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight, spread, sun and water
- watershednursery.comThe Watershed Nursery Cooperativeheight, sun and water
- NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxsun
- pnwherbaria.orgUniversity of Washington Herbarium, Flora of the Pacific Northwest Che...trait tags
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 17 states and 4 provinces
United States: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming and 5 more
Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland, Quebec
Recorded growing wild in 111 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
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Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.