These perennial ferns offer an evergreen display of their fronds year after year, making them a must-have for both home and gardens.
Offering a unique texture and shape, perennial ferns are one of the most versatile additions that you can have in your plant collection. They are low-maintenance, too!
Perennial Ferns
1. Cinnamon Fern
Botanical Name: Osmunda cinnamomea
USDA Zones: 3-9
Perfect for shaded gardens, these ferns look great especially when planted in bunches around the garden bed. It remains stubby, growing up to a foot tall.
2. Southern Maidenhair Fern
Botanical Name: Adiantum capillus-veneris
USDA Zones: 7-10
The leaves of these ferns have a rounded shape, which makes them stand out from the other perennial ferns on this list. These can be a good option for window boxes.
3. Hayscented Fern
Botanical Name: Dennstaedtia punctilobula
USDA Zones: 3-8
Elongated and slender, the foliage of this fern also releases a fresh scent when crushed. It grows best in bright and indirect light.
4. Broad Beech Fern
Botanical Name: Phegopteris hexagonoptera
USDA Zones: 5-9
Stubby and beautiful, these ferns natively grow under the canopy of trees. You can also have a lush carpet of these plants in your garden in dappled light.
5. Japanese Tassel Fern
Botanical Name: Polystichum polyblepharum
USDA Zones: 5-8
A great pic for containers, it will look smashing on patios! It has a mix of light and dark green fronds that also have a stunning golden-copper hair.
6. Japanese Painted Ferns
Botanical Name: Athyriumniponicum
USDA Zones: 4-9
These are probably one of the most beautiful perennial ferns you can grow, thanks to their silvery sheen on the foliage. Best for dappled shade.
7. Maidenhair Fern
Botanical Name: Adiantum pedatum
USDA Zones: 3-8
These ferns also have round, coin-like individual leaves. They do well in indirect light, meaning you can showcase these on coffee tables! You can also use epsom salt to keep these plants lush.
8. Ostrich Fern
Botanical Name: Matteuccia struthiopteris
USDA Zones: 4-7
Ostrich fern has this unique name because of the sheer size, which also makes them quite a good specimen to grow near windows for a natural privacy screen.
9. Lady Fern
Botanical Name: Athyrium filix-femina
USDA Zones: 3-9
Beautiful and elegant, the lady fern deserves the name due to its delicate fronds that remain light green in color. The plant grows to about 4-5 feet tall.
10. Southern Wood Fern
Botanical Name: Dryopteris ludoviciana
USDA Zones: 6-10
A winter hardy specimen, it is a great choice for weathers that are a little on the cold side than their warm counterparts. It remains bushy and evergreen throughout the year.
11. Holly Fern
Botanical Name: Cyrtomium spp.
USDA Zones: 6-10
Holly Fern gets its name for the resemblance it shares with the holly leaves. The plant sports dark green fronds and thrives under bright, indirect light.
12. Male Fern
Botanical Name: Dryopteris filix-mas
USDA Zones: 4-8
Well the male fern stands erect and tall, probably why it got the name like that! It showcases brown-green fronds in the colder climates.
13. Christmas Fern
Botanical Name: Polystichum acrostichoides
USDA Zones: 3-8
Having leathery fronds and impressive height of 3-5 feet, this fern is an apt choice for the garden to add contrast to the other plants.
14. Autumn Fern
Botanical Name: Dryopteris erythrosora
USDA Zones: 4-9
Autumn fern is a must have in your plant collection, as its fronds take a stunning red-orange hue in spring. Make sure to have a bunch of them around!
15. Marginal Wood Fern
Botanical Name: Dryopteris marginalis
USDA Zones: 3-8
These perennial ferns showcase gray-green fronds that mostly remain dark green year round. They grow best under the shade of nearby trees.
16. Korean Rock Fern
Botanical Name: Polystichum tsus-simense
USDA Zones: 7-9
Well don’t ask us how the fern got ‘Korean’ to its name, but we can surely tell you that this one as an elongated pyramid frond pattern, which looks lovely!
17. Western Sword Fern
Botanical Name: Polystichum munitum
USDA Zones: 5-9
Look carefully at those fronds. Don’t they look like swords? Well, the reason for its name, and this one has a bright light green color, which looks simply fantastic!
18. Interrupted Fern
Botanical Name: Osmunda claytoniana L.
USDA Zones: 3-8
This fern has this quirky name because the green fronds gets “interrupted” with spore-bearing leaflets in the middle, and that makes for quite a sight!
19. Royal Fern
Botanical Name: Osmunda regalis
USDA Zones: 3-9
This perennial fern truly looks royal, especially if you have the right container for it. The fronds spread wide and have a silvery sheen to them.
20. Southern Shield Fern
Botanical Name: Thelypteris kunthii
USDA Zones: 6-9
The arching fronds of this plant makes it best for borders, or the center of a garden. It has a medium to light green hue and grows best in indirect light.
21. Ebony Spleenwort
Botanical Name: Asplenium platyneuron
USDA Zones: 3-8
Tall, slender, and little quirky is what this fern is. It grows surprisingly well in drier conditions, and features a central stalk, which turns black as it matures.
22. Tree Fern
Botanical Name: Dicksonia antarctica
USDA Zones: 7-10
Well, it is a tree and it’s a fern, the reason for its name! The thick central caudex has a canopy of fronds on the top, which makes people mistake it for some sort of palm, sometimes.
