Everyone longs for a plant that's easy to care for, elegant, and versatile in landscaping. You’ll be relieved to know that this picture-perfect plant is usually sitting right before your eyes.
Ferns will be your new best friend with their capability to add the perfect dash of elegance to your garden, patio, or indoor living area.
If you take a nature walk, I’m sure you’ll find these plants everywhere. If you’re looking for one, this is your sign to add those natural beauties to your backyard!
Whether that be in the mix with your shrubs and roses, in containers near your favorite relaxation spot on your porch, or hanging inside your house. These plants are calling your name!
There are a variety of different colors, shapes, and sizes to pick from and we’re here to fill you in on all their unique details that will have you wanting to order more than just one of these quintessential plants.
Fill the upcoming years with these unique and easy-to-care-for plants! Kick back and watch your ferns grow abundantly from inside your house or from your patio!
Our Top 6 Picks for You
1. Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata)
This popular houseplant works wonders and will leave you smiling ear to ear with its soft, symmetrical, green fronds that arch gracefully downward.
The Boston Fern is ideal in a hanging basket or container in your kitchen or living room. Dress up your living area with the charming beauty this houseplant portrays!
If you have a kitchen window with bright, indirect sunlight that needs some sprucing up, install a sturdy ceiling hook where you can hang your Boston Fern.
This plant can be grown in any zone as long as it is indoors. This is the best fern for the shade, so your home is calling this ferns name!
Boston Ferns also grow beautifully outdoors as summer annuals in shaded locations, but you will want to be sure to bring it indoors before the danger of frost arrives.
With all species of ferns, moisture is incredibly important, so making sure that this plant is given ample water is ideal.
Caring for your Boston Fern isn’t necessarily hard, but it is tedious. Making sure that it is in partial shade with moist soil, and a cool area in your home will allow it to thrive.
2. Lady in Red (Athyrium felix-forma 'Lady in Red')
Planting in the mix with other colorful flowers will add ornamental value all around and bring your garden together easily. Lady in Red looks phenomenal as a natural thriller in containers or as a garden border.
Fill your garden with this uniquely colored fern in masses, or line the outskirts of your flower bed for an impeccable contrast over time.
To keep your plant happy and healthy, you will want to be sure to prune your Lady in Red in the early spring.
This cultivar grows best in zones 3-8, where it can reach up to 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. This fern enjoys rich, evenly moist, well-drained soil in partial shade.
If you have a shady garden, this fern is the one for you!
3. Foxtail Fern (Asparagus densiflorus 'Myers')
The Foxtail Fern is full of distinctive features, which is what makes this plant so intriguing and popular. To start off, it has full grassy green fronds that point any and every direction.
In the summer, some of the fronds will produce sophisticated tiny white flowers that will develop into brilliant red berries in the fall that are quite ornamental.
Placing this plant for an outdoor border alongside your lock landscaping makes for a clean appearance. The unique fronds look incredibly captivating in a container as well.
Unlike other ferns, the Foxtail can be planted outdoors in zones 9-11, but are also hardy in zones 4-11 as long as they are on your patio with shelter.
Be sure to plant this majestic fern in full sun to partial shade with rich, moist, well-drained soil for the best growth possible.
4. Burgundy Lace Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum 'Burgundy Lace')
If you already had your eyes set on ordering one of the ferns above, your cart size is about to grow after reading about this variety.
The Burgundy Lace Painted Fern is known for its ultra finely-toothed, silvery-purple and burgundy fronds that mature into a silvery-green with a vivid purple coloration.
This plant is nearly impossible to miss and makes for a fantastic counterpoint to flowering perennials.
If you want to draw in a crowd, then plant in a large group to bless yourself with waves of burgundy and silver in your landscape.
When planted in rich, moist, well-drained soil with full sun to partial shade, this plant can grow to be about two feet tall and wide. Burgundy Lace is a very hardy fern and is grown in zones 5-8.
5. Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris)
Up next is the Ostrich Fern, which is one of the most beautiful ferns there is with its vase-shaped, showy, arching, emerald green fronds that appear to look like an ostrich tail feathers, hence its name.
Depending on your zone, you might not have any palm trees near you, but now you have a more hardy variation of them, even though it might be a bit smaller than you imagined!
The elegantly large and arching fronds look incredible when planted in a container for your porch or patio. Finding vacation time can be difficult, so bring paradise to you with the Ostrich Fern.
Planting in the shaded areas under your favorite trees can bring more depth to your garden and give it the splash of uniqueness that your landscaping has been longing for.
The Ostrich Fern is happiest when planted in moist, well-drained soil and covered with the cool shade where it can grow to be 3-6 feet tall and 5-7 feet wide.
This fern thrives in the growing zones 3-7 and is one of the more hardy ferns when placed in colder climates.
6. Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum raddianum)
Last and most certainly, not least is the Maidenhair Fern! This fern happens to be the most popular indoor houseplant.
The Maidenhair has delicate, paper-thin, light-green fronds that contrast brightly against its enchanting black, shiny stems.
This fern should only be planted outdoors when in a zone that it has no chances of freezing.
When grown indoors, it is incredibly versatile and can be planted in terrariums, greenhouses, or containers, as long as it has sufficient moisture, humidity, and shade.
No matter the style of your house, the Maidenhair will be sure to add the grace and lightness that is needed. This plant can be delivered to any zone when planted indoors!
Although this plant is small, it sure is mighty when planted in the proper environment. It can grow to be 1-2 feet tall and wide when given a lot of moisture!
