Best evergreen ferns (for house and garden)

Evergreen ferns provide beauty all year round. They are a great choice for both houseplants and for key corners of the yard that need a splash of green to lift the gloom, even in the depths of winter.

There is a wide range of evergreen fern varieties with a similarly wide range of frond shapes, colors, and sizes. Here are some of the best specimens available – many of which have received the Royal Horticultural Society’s award of garden merit – listed according to the impact made by their foliage.

Broad-leafed ferns

If you are looking for glossy, lush foliage, the broad-leafed ferns are a great choice. Many Asplenium species ferns are evergreen and can be grown outdoors in a wide range of climates.

The Bird’s nest fern is a great starting point, and is popular as both a garden and house plant.

A similar fern with broad, single-bladed fronds is the Hart’s tongue fern. In addition to the parent species, there is a range of varieties and cultivars with interesting features, such as crimped or ruffled margins on the fronds. ‘Phyliss’ and ‘Cristatum’ are good examples.

Next is the weird and wonderful Crocodile fern, with its scaly texture that resembles reptilian scales. Striking for the pattern, color and shape of the fronds, it can be a real talking point.

The Heart fern is another beautiful and unusual fern. It is not a commonly available plant, and is not hardy and so only suitable as an indoor fern in most parts of the world. Nevertheless, the Heart-shaped leaves are beautiful and stand on striking black stipes, adding to the interest.

Finally, moving on from the single-bladed ferns, there is a wide range of evergreen and semi-evergreen Holly ferns, with broad, glossy pinnae along the central rachis of the frond. These rich and bushy ferns are popular choices for adding a dense swathe of green to a shady corner of the garden. Many varieties and cultivars add to the range of choice.

Classic bushy ferns

For a more classic look – the archetypal shuttlecock shape with complex, feathery fronds that most of us associate with ferns – you cannot beat the Polystichum species.

The Soft Shield fern has soft, oval pinnae that are delicate and shapely. It is a hardy and evergreen fern, and popular for its reliable, bushy texture that lasts all through the winter. There are many varieties and cultivars, of which the more textured ‘Herrenhausen’, ‘Bevis’ and ‘Plumosum’ are the most popular.

Another attractive specimen is the (slightly confusingly named) Makinoi’s holly fern. Similar in texture to the soft shield fern, Polystichum makinoi is an attractive, low-growing variety with striking pale fronds that slowly darken in color as they mature.

There are numerous other Polystichum species ferns to choose from, with a range of green foliage from the pale yellow of Polystichum polyblepharum ‘Jade’ to the deeper green of the Hard Shield fern (Polystichum aculeatum).

The King fern – or scaly male fern – is a striking and regal addition to the garden that catches the eye. Although strictly semi-evergreen, it usually keeps some of its foliage all through the year. Again, there are many varieties, most notably ‘Cristata The King’ which has curious divided tips to the fronds.

Finally, the Intermediate wood fern (Dryopteris intermedia) is another great example of a classic, shuttlecock-shaped fern that lasts all year round. Less common than other Drypopteris species, it is nevertheless a reliable evergreen variety with beautiful feathery fronds.

Sword-leafed ferns

Another common form that fern foliage can take is single leaflets projecting from the central stalk (or rachis) of the frond. This shape can be called “pinnate” or “pinnatifid”, depending on whether the leaflets are completely separate units or fused at the base, but for sake of simplicity they could more loosely be called “sword-leafed” ferns. The individual leaflets look like sword blades sticking out from either side of the rachis like a ladder (or the teeth of a saw).

A lovely evergreen fern that has this form is the Hard fern. This is a personal favorite of mine, and known by several common names, such as Deer fern and Herringbone fern. It has striking, fleshy fronds, and grows well in wet soil, remaining evergreen and hardy even in cold winters.

Another great example of an evergreen fern with sword-shaped foliage is the Christmas fern. Famed for providing rich green foliage for Christmas decorations, Polystichum acrostichoides also enhances the garden all through the year. It is hardy and tolerate of most soil types, weathering winters that drop to -15° C (5° F).

Another hardy, reliable, evergreen fern is common polypody. This epiphytic variety can grow on even the most meager of soil substrates, but can also be planted in soil as normal, and thrive under most conditions. It has a striking comb-like shape and is often found growing along the branches and trunks of trees in old forests.

Next is one of the most popular varieties of fern, the Boston fern. A tropical variety, it is only suitable for outdoor use in warm summer months, but is a stalwart houseplant that has become one of the most recognizable ferns for room decoration. The dense, cascading fronds are dramatic and eye-catching, and numerous varieties and cultivars have been bred. Among these, the rich green ‘Green Lady’ and the ruffled texture of ‘Florida Ruffle’ are noteworthy.

Closely related to the Boston fern, Kimberly Queen (Nephrolepis obliterata), is another popular indoor variety that is considered more elegant and shapely, and also tolerates more sun, than the classic Boston fern.

Finally, no list of sword-leafed ferns would be complete without the American sword fern (Polystichum munitum). A widely admired specimen with upright fronds that are dark green and have fine serrations along the edge of the pinnae.

Small-leafed ferns

Moving on to another major form, the small-leafed ferns have more rounded, button like leaflets. The most well known example is the Maidenhair fern (or Delta Maidenhair fern). A tricky variety to care for, due to the need for high humidity, it can nevertheless be grown successfully as a houseplant. Several cultivars exist, with variation in the color of leaflets and stems.

Next, a more hardy example of a small-leafed fern is the similarly named, but botanically distinct, Maidenhair spleenwort. This evergreen fern can grow in shallow nooks and crannies, where it forms small epiphytic plants, or in open soil where it will grow much longer and bushier fronds.

Finally, another popular houseplant is the lemon button fern – a relative of the Boston fern, but with smaller, rounder leaflets that smell lemony when crushed (giving the fern its name). A compact and attractive specimen, the lemon button fern is popular for both its appearance and its well-deserved reputation as an easy and resilient plant to grow.

Colorful ferns

As well as the wide range of textures and shapes, ferns can also be chosen for their variety of colors. Amongst the more popular colored ferns, the Autumn (or copper shield) and Sunset ferns have strikingly beautiful coppery-red foliage. Although semi-evergreen, these varieties will last through the winter in milder climates and retain their colored fronds through most of the year elsewhere.

For a variegated splash of silver color, the Silver brake fern is a good choice. Hardy down to subzero temperatures, it is a popular variety for providing good ground cover with a striking pattern.

Another popular variegated fern is the East Indian Holly fern (Arachniodes aristata variegata). Less hardy than the Silver brake fern, this variety has a pleasing two-tone pattern of pale green centers and darker green margins to the foliage.

Finally, another eye-catching choice is the dwarf Brazilian tree fern (Blechnum brasiliense ‘Volcano’), which has striking deep red fronds when the fiddleheads first emerge, which slowly turn green with age. An unusual and attractive fern, it is only hardy down to freezing point and will struggle in the subzero conditions of colder regions.

Unusual evergreen ferns

Finally, it is worth mentioning a few other popular “oddball” ferns that are notable for their distinctive characters.

First, the weird Staghorn ferns. Unlike any of the previous varieties, the Staghorn holds a unique position in shape and style.

Another popular indoor variety is the Rabbit’s foot fern. Notable for the fuzzy rhizomes that roam over the surface of the soil, and creep over the edges of the pot, the Rabbit’s foot (and related Squirrel’s foot and Deer’s foot ferns) are a peculiar sight.

And last, but certainly not least, are the Tree ferns. Evergreen and sculptural, the Tasmanian and Australian tree ferns are unsurpassed for impact. Although they are hardy to low temperatures, it is worth taking care to protect the growing zone at the top of the trunk against freezing, as pooled water that turns to ice could directly damage the plant.

---

There is a very wide range of evergreen ferns available – almost every style, shape, color and size is an option with the right choice of species. If you are looking for year-round interest and winter green, ferns will not let you down.