Fortune's holly fern
Cyrtomium fortunei · Polypodiaceae
A hardier holly fern with upright, matt, light green fronds and narrower leaflets. It keeps its fronds through cold winters.
- Size
- 20 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 6 to 9
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around Fortune's holly fern
The planner designed this bed around Fortune's holly fern when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 513 that suit those conditions, and says below why Fortune's holly fern stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Fortune's holly fern × 3, green leaves
- 2 Moor grass 'Greenlee' × 8, tan
- 3 White barrenwort 'Niveum' × 8, white
- 4 Northern sea oats × 3, tan
- 5 Foxglove × 3, purple
- 6 White bleeding heart × 1, white
- 7 Yellow trout lily × 12, yellow
- 8 Hardy cyclamen × 7, pink
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
Why here
- At the back. At 20 in it is seen over white barrenwort 'Niveum' (8 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to northern sea oats (3½ ft) and white bleeding heart (2½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 12 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- The only leaves in winter. From November to March it is what there is to look at.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The scheme leans cool (purple and pink) and uses yellow for warmth, with tan and white to calm things between them. Northern sea oats and foxglove anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 2 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Foxglove is highly poisonous to people, dogs, cats and horses. Northern sea oats spreads aggressively.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Fortune's holly fern goes in a border
At 20 in it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Use it where the Japanese holly fern is not hardy. The stiff, upright fronds have a strong outline beside mounding hostas and hellebores.
- Evergreen ferns for colder gardens
- Dry shade
- Contrast with lacy ferns
What to plant with Fortune's holly fern
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: bold leaves against its medium ones.
- Lenten rose: adds the flowers, late March to early May; bold leaves against its medium ones.
- Lilyturf: adds the flowers, early August to mid September.
Questions about Fortune's holly fern
Does Fortune's holly fern need sun or shade?
Fortune's holly fern grows in part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning) and shade (less than 2 hours of direct sun, or bright dappled light). It is one of the few that also put up with deep shade.
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does Fortune's holly fern grow in?
USDA zones 6 to 9. It is hardy to zone 6, which means it survives winter nights down to about 0 °F (−18 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should Fortune's holly fern be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 20 in (50 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Fortune's holly fern plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is Fortune's holly fern poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like Fortune's holly fern?
Fortune's holly fern comes from Eastern Himalaya to Korea and Indo-China. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Christmas fern: the same job in a bed and the same size.
- Marginal wood fern: the same job in a bed; 4 in taller.
- Northern maidenhair fern: the same job in a bed and the same size; fine leaves, not medium, not evergreen.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat Fortune's holly fern?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What does Fortune's holly fern look like in winter?
Fortune's holly fern keeps its green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
More Cyrtomium
- Japanese holly fern Cyrtomium falcatum
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Fern
- Size
- 20 in (50 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Medium texture, evergreen; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 6 to 9
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Polypodiaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern Himalaya to Korea and Indo-China
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, deep shade
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.