Japanese holly fern
Cyrtomium falcatum · Polypodiaceae Popular
Thick, glossy, dark green fronds with large, pointed leaflets like holly leaves. It is the toughest fern for warm climates, and tolerates dry shade and coastal conditions.
- Size
- 24 in tall, 2½ ft wide
- Zones
- 7 to 10
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around Japanese holly fern
The planner designed this bed around Japanese holly fern when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 7, part shade. It chose the other plants from the 535 that suit those conditions, and says below why Japanese holly fern stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Japanese holly fern × 3, dark green leaves
- 2 Spotted dead nettle 'Beacon Silver' × 5, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 16, blue
- 4 Northern sea oats × 3, tan
- 5 Bicolor monkshood × 4, blue
- 6 Bleeding heart × 1, white
- 7 Snowdrop × 12, white
- 8 Yellow trout lily × 5, yellow
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
- The only bold leaves here. The rest are medium. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
Why here
- In the middle. At 24 in it is the step between leadwort (10 in) in front and bleeding heart (2½ ft) behind: each is seen over the one before.
- 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 10 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 a cottage garden: 32 of the 32 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 53 to 47, left to right. Leadwort is the plant there is most of: 16 of the 49.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Bicolor monkshood 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 Japanese holly fern goes in a border
At 24 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.
It reads as a broad-leaved evergreen more than as a fern, and gives weight to a planting of finer ferns.
- Bold evergreen texture for southern shade
- Dry shade under trees
- Coastal gardens
What to plant with Japanese holly fern
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Cast iron plant.
- Mondo grass: fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (8 in) to stand in front of it.
- Autumn fern: medium leaves against its bold ones.
Questions about Japanese holly fern
Does Japanese holly fern need sun or shade?
Japanese 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 Japanese holly fern grow in?
USDA zones 7 to 10. It is hardy to zone 7, which means it survives winter nights down to about 10 °F (−12 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should Japanese holly fern be planted?
24 in (60 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 2½ ft (75 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 24 in (60 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Japanese holly fern plants do I need?
At 24 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 3 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 6 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 10 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 Japanese holly fern poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension and the ASPCA.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like Japanese holly fern?
Japanese holly fern comes from China to Temp. Eastern Asia and Vietnam. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Christmas fern: the same job in a bed; 4 in shorter, 6 in narrower.
- Marginal wood fern: the same job in a bed; 6 in narrower, medium leaves, not bold.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat Japanese 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.
Will Japanese holly fern spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by spores, and has naturalised in parts of the Southeast. Remove the old fronds before the spores ripen if you garden near woodland.
What does Japanese holly fern look like in winter?
Japanese holly fern keeps its dark 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
- Fortune's holly fern Cyrtomium fortunei
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Fern
- Size
- 24 in (60 cm) tall, 2½ ft (75 cm) wide
- Plant
- 24 in (60 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Bold texture, evergreen; dark green
- Shape
- Arching, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 7 to 10
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Polypodiaceae
- Comes from
- China to Temp. Eastern Asia and Vietnam
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, heat, humidity, salt, deep shade
Checked against NC State Extension and ASPCA poison lists. 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.