Athyrium niponicum var. pictum – Japanese painted fern – A very attractive deciduous fern from eastern Asia, growing from 25-35cm tall by 50-60cm wide, with short creeping reddish brown rhizomes. The fronds are pinnate, lance-shaped and arching, with silvery grey-green or mid-green tones up to 35cm long with with very prominent redish-purple midribs and yellowish stems. The variety pictum (Japanese painted fern) is truly stunning, one of the showiest ferns for the exotic garden, electrifying shady areas with its fronds 30-38cm long in a soft shade of metallic silver-grey with hints of red and blue. The variety pictum ‘Ursula’s Red’ has superb red-pink and silver fronds developing a blackish red central stripe as they mature. ‘Pictum Crested’ (painted lady fern) has purplish red midribs suffusing into silvery grey with bluish green lamina and crested pinnae—another excellent form.
Common Name: Japanese painted fern
Latin Name: Athyrium niponicum var. pictum
Tenderness Rating: Hardy
Ease of growing: Easy
Position: Dappled to full shade
Soil Condition: Fertile moist soil
