Culture
Easily grown in rich, medium moisture, well-drained soil in part shade to full shade. Tolerates drier soils than many other ferns. Will tolerate full sun, however, only if soil is kept constantly moist. Shelter from wind to protect fronds from breaking. Divide clumps in spring every few years to reposition crowns at the soil level.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Athyrium filix-femina, commonly called lady fern, is a deciduous fern that features lacy-cut, erect or ascending, 2 to 3-pinnate or pinnatifid, finely-divided, lanceolate, light green fronds which grow in a dense circular shuttlecock-like clump to 2-3' tall. Each frond (leaf) has twenty to thirty pairs of elliptic non-opposite pinna (leaflets) with narrow pointed tips. Each pinna is divided into deeply-cut lanceolate to oblong pinnules (subleaflets). Sori and indusia are found on the undersides of the pinnules. This is a circumglobal species which is found in rich moist woods, thickets, fields, meadows and ravines throughout northern North America, Europe and Asia.
Subsp. angustum, commonly called northern lady fern, is native from Greenland to Newfoundland and Saskatchewan south to South Dakota, Missouri and North Carolina. Subsp. angustum primarily differs from the species by (a) yellow spores, (b) erect to ascending rhizomes, (c) elliptic pinnae with widest part of the frond near the middle, and (d) stipes (stems) are about the same length as the blades.
Genus name comes from Greek athyros meaning "doorless" in reference to the slowly opening hinged indusia (spore covers).
Specific epithet comes from Latin filix meaning fern and femina meaning woman as confirmed by the common name of lady fern.
‘Lady in Red’ is a cultivar that typically grows slightly smaller (18-30” tall) and features elliptic lacy light green fronds with contrasting burgundy-red stipes. Synonymous with Athyrium angustum f. rubellum ‘Lady in Red’.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses
Great selection for a shady area of the landscape in need of a small but easy-to-grow fern. Rock gardens, woodland gardens, shaded border fronts or shade gardens. Also effective in shaded areas along streams or ponds.