Netted chain fern
Woodwardia areolata · Aspleniaceae
Glossy fronds with broad, wavy lobes, bronze-red when new. It spreads through wet, acid soil, and resembles a smaller, shinier sensitive fern.
- Size
- 20 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Part sun to shade
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around netted chain fern
The planner designed this bed around netted chain 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 354 that suit those conditions and its wet soil, and says below why netted chain fern stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Netted chain fern × 3, green leaves
- 2 Lingonberry × 13, pink
- 3 Woodland phlox 'Blue Moon' × 8, blue
- 4 Northern sea oats × 5, tan
- 5 Foxglove × 3, purple
- 6 White bleeding heart × 1, white
- 7 Winter aconite × 12, yellow
- 8 Snowdrop × 12, white
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
Why here
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- 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, spring to frost. They cover the 14 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cool colours (pink, blue and purple) with yellow as the warm note, and tan and white to calm things between them. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 49% of the visual weight and the right half 51%.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 1 Good, 2 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Foxglove is highly poisonous to people, dogs, cats and horses. Winter aconite is highly poisonous to people, dogs, cats and horses.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where netted chain 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: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
A good small-scale groundcover for a boggy place, with the cardinal flowers and turtleheads that share its habitat.
- Wet, acid soil
- Edges of ponds and bogs
- Native groundcover for swampy shade
What to plant with netted chain fern
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Cardinal flower: adds the flowers, late July to mid September; tall enough (3½ ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same wet soil.
- Turtlehead 'Hot Lips': adds the flowers, mid August to late September; tall enough (3 ft) to stand behind it.
- Cinnamon fern: tall enough (4 ft) to stand behind it; happy in the same wet soil.
Questions about netted chain fern
Does netted chain fern need sun or shade?
Netted chain fern grows in part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun), 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 moist to wet soil, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water. It copes with soil that stays wet.
What zones does netted chain fern grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should netted chain fern be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
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 netted chain fern plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is netted chain 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.
Do deer eat netted chain fern?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
Will netted chain fern spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads by underground runners and can crowd its neighbours. Dig out the edges or divide every 2 to 3 years.
What does netted chain fern look like in winter?
Netted chain 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.
Is netted chain fern good for bees and butterflies?
Netted chain fern is visited by songbirds.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
In these guides
- Plants for deep shade
- Plants for wet soil and rain gardens
- Deer-resistant plants for shade
- Pet-safe plants for shade
- Native plants for shade
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Groundcover plants
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Fern
- Size
- 20 in (50 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- None: grown for its foliage
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; green
- Shape
- Upright, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Part sun, part shade, shade
- Soil
- Rich, moist to wet
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Aspleniaceae
- Comes from
- Eastern North America
- Attracts
- Songbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, wet soil, 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.