'Godzilla' Giant Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium)
Perennial
- Massive habit towers over other perennials in shade gardens!
- Silver fronds and purple stems are eye-catching.
- Easy to grow, durable, and rabbit resistant.
- Zones 3-8, part sun to shade, 3' tall x 4-6' wide at maturity.
ZONE
EXPOSURE
HEIGHT
Description
Japanese painted ferns are a work of art with distinctive, silvery leaves and purple midribs that add dimension to your understory. It fills in moist and shady sights with ease and forms a neat mound that maintains its appeal from spring to fall. We recommend it for gardeners of any level since it's low maintenance, deer and rabbit resistant, and easy to grow in poor soils.
Details
Common name: Japanese painted fern, Lady fern
Zone: 3 – 8
Sun exposure: Shade (<4 hours sun), Part-sun (4-6 hours sun)
Height x width: 3' X 4-5'
Foliage color: Sage green, silver, and purple
Season of Interest: Spring, summer, fall
Features: Rare & unusual, rain gardens, rabbit resistant, heat tolerant, deer resistant, container plants, cold tolerant, best for beginners
Uses: Shade gardens, woodland gardens, fern collections
How to Grow
Light: Part shade to full shade – Best silvery frond color occurs in light shade. Too much sun often results in a bleaching of the attractive frond colors.
Water: Tolerates more soil dryness than some other ferns in this genus, but soil must not be allowed to dry out.
Spacing: 1.5 – 2 ft apart
Fertilizing: None required.
Winterizing: Nothing special required.
Maintenance & pruning: The previous season’s leaves should be trimmed to the ground in early spring. Do this before new growth begins, or the process will be tricky to do well.
Plant spacing is based on the ultimate width of the plants. This figure is normally given as a range; for example, 3-5’. If you live in a cold climate and/or want plants to fill in more quickly, plan to space at the shorter end of the range. If you live in a warm climate, are on a limited budget, or are willing to wait longer for plants to touch, use the higher end of the range. Using the larger number is recommended when calculating distance from a building or structure. There’s really no such thing as "maximum spacing": if you don’t want your plants to touch, you can space them as far apart as you’d like. All plant spacing is calculated on center, or in other words, the centers of the plants are spaced one half of their eventual width apart:
Unless you are planting in a straight line, as you might for hedges or edging, space your plants in a staggered or zig-zag pattern for a more interesting and naturalistic look:
Not sure just how many plants will fit in your garden? Our calculator gives you the exact amount of plants required for your space. Simply update the values and the calculator will re-calculate accordingly. Spacing information can be found in the 'How to Grow' tab on each plant's page.
