Japanese painted fern
Athyrium niponicum var. pictum · Athyriaceae Popular
Arching fronds brushed with silver and burgundy brighten dark corners all season. A low, slow-growing fern grown entirely for its foliage.
- Size
- 18 in tall, 24 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Part shade to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around Japanese painted fern
The planner designed this bed around Japanese painted 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 Japanese painted fern stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Japanese painted fern × 3, silver leaves
- 2 Lingonberry × 3, pink
- 3 Creeping phlox 'Sherwood Purple' × 12, purple
- 4 Northern sea oats × 5, tan
- 5 Foxglove × 4, white
- 6 White bleeding heart × 1, white
- 7 Yellow trout lily × 10, 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.
- A classic partner for creeping phlox 'Sherwood Purple'. Both are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
Why here
- In the middle. At 18 in it is the step between lingonberry (8 in) in front and foxglove (4 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.
- Beside creeping phlox 'Sherwood Purple'. A recognised partner: the planner puts such plants together where it can.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, spring to frost. They cover the 13 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cool colours (pink and purple) with yellow as the warm note, and tan and white to calm things between them. The flowering is at its height in early May, with 3 kinds out together.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 3 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 Japanese painted fern goes in a border
At 18 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is short (12 to 18 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
Fine, arching fronds against the broad leaves of hosta is the textbook shade pairing. The silver in the frond echoes brunnera and lights up dark foliage such as bugleweed.
- Silver and burgundy foliage for shade
- The front of a shady border
- Contrast with hostas
What to plant with Japanese painted fern
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Hosta: bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same moist soil.
- Siberian bugloss 'Jack Frost': adds the flowers, late April to late May; bold leaves against its fine ones; happy in the same moist soil.
- Lenten rose: adds the flowers, late March to early May; bold leaves against its fine ones.
Choosing between it and a look-alike? Japanese painted fern vs Lady fern.
Questions about Japanese painted fern
Does Japanese painted fern need sun or shade?
Japanese painted 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 soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does Japanese painted fern grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should Japanese painted fern be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 24 in (60 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 18 in (45 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Japanese painted 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 Japanese painted 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 Japanese painted fern?
Japanese painted fern comes from Eastern Asia. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Bulblet fern: the same job in a bed; 6 in narrower.
- Northern maidenhair fern: the same job in a bed and the same size; belongs in the middle, not at the front.
- Victorian lady fern: the same job in a bed; belongs in the middle, not at the front, 12 in taller.
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 painted 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 Japanese painted fern look like in winter?
Japanese painted fern dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Athyrium
- Eared lady fern Athyrium otophorum
- Ghost fern Athyrium 'Ghost'
- Lady fern Athyrium filix-femina
- Lady fern 'Lady in Red' Athyrium filix-femina 'Lady in Red'
- Painted fern 'Godzilla' Athyrium 'Godzilla'
- Victorian lady fern Athyrium filix-femina 'Victoriae'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Fern
- Size
- 18 in (45 cm) tall, 24 in (60 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Short (12 to 18 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Fine texture, herbaceous; silver, burgundy, green
- Shape
- Arching, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Athyriaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern Asia
- 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.