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Welcome to our plant search tool. This database contains many of the thousands of plants that we carry. There are some notable exceptions. Hundreds of new perennials come out every year and Make It Green has been a leader in making them available to you. Eventually the recent introductions will make it to our plant search tool but every year there will be a lag between our in-store plant selection and this search tool. Unfortunately this search tool can't cover everything that we will carry this year. We also carry over 100 varieties of rare and unusual evergreens and over 100 varieties of hard-to-find shrubs many of which are not in the plant search. Click on the Plant List button for a list of nearly all the woody plants (trees, shrubs and evergreens) that we have ordered or already have in stock for this coming year.
Height: 18 inches
Spread: 18 inches
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 5a
Other Names: Japanese Red Shield Fern
Description:
Gorgeous dramatic foliage color on spreading plants, ideal for borders, containers or use as groundcover; young papery fronds emerge copper in color and develop to green when mature; easy to grow and drought resistant
Ornamental Features
Autumn Fern is primarily valued in the garden for its broadly spreading habit of growth. Its attractive glossy ferny compound leaves emerge coppery-bronze in spring, turning forest green in colour with prominent coppery-bronze tips the rest of the year.
Landscape Attributes
Autumn Fern is a dense herbaceous evergreen fern with a ground-hugging habit of growth. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.
This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Autumn Fern is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Mass Planting
- Rock/Alpine Gardens
- Border Edging
- General Garden Use
- Groundcover
- Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens
- Container Planting
Planting & Growing
Autumn Fern will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 15 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.
This plant does best in partial shade to shade. It is quite adaptable, prefering to grow in average to wet conditions, and will even tolerate some standing water. It is particular about its soil conditions, with a strong preference for rich, acidic soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution, and will benefit from being planted in a relatively sheltered location. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This species is not originally from North America, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets. It can be propagated by division.
Autumn Fern is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden. Be aware that in our climate, most plants cannot be expected to survive the winter if left in containers outdoors, and this plant is no exception. Contact our experts for more information on how to protect it over the winter months.
