Scientific name: Athyrium niponicum var. pictum
Family: POLYPODIACEAE / WOODSIACEAE
Common names: “Painted lady fern” “Japanese painted fern
Plant Type: Deciduous fern
Conditions:
Zone: 1-9
Light: Part shade – full shade
Exposure: Sheltered
Soil: Rich, neutral – acidic, grows well in quality compost and leaf mulch
Moisture: Damp well drained, requires more moisture in sun
Aesthetic:
Plant Size: 12″-18″ H & W
Leaf and Stem shape: shortly-creeping rhizome and lance-shaped, bipinnate grey fronds, with paler midribs to the pinnae, and a red-purple zone along the centre
Pruning: N/a
Maintenance: Low, cut out old leaves just as new ones emerge
Landscape use: Courtyard & cottage gardens, rock garden, tree underplaning, groundcover
Propagate: By spores and division
Pests & Disease: None
Comments: ~AGM winner, very fragile!
Cultivars: ~AGM winner: A. n. var. p. ‘Silver falls’
