48 Most Beautiful Ferns To Grow | Best Ferns for Containers

Not just one or two, but discover the names of the 48 most beautiful types of ferns you can grow in your garden and home!

Check out our article on taking care of ferns here

Most Beautiful Ferns

1. Cotton Candy Boston Fern

Botanical Name: Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Cotton Candy’

‘Cotton Candy’ is an excellent houseplant as it’s not fussy about regular watering and light requirements. It has thin, light-green, fluffy leaves that resemble the kid’s favorite cotton candy!

2. Tricolor Fern

Botanical Name: Pteris quadriaurita tricolor

Also known as ‘Painted brake,’ this fern exhibits tender red and bronze new growth that takes a mid-green hue with purple stalks and midribs with age.

3. Orlando Fern

Botanical Name: Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Orlando’

This fern is also popular as sword fern; it has relative upright green fronds that grow in a bushy form. Looks great in small to medium pots.

Check out our article on how to keep your ferns lush and beautiful here

4. Rowerii Fern

Botanical Name: Pteris cretica ‘Rowerii’

‘Rowerii’ has branched, divided green fronds and offers a peculiar look that gives an exquisite touch to any type of home decor.

5. Lemon Button Fern

Botanical Name: Nephrolepis cordifolia ‘Lemon Button’

This charming houseplant features golden-green foliage delicately divided into lovely round buttons that run up the fronds.

6. Miniature Tree Fern

Botanical Name: Blechnum gibbum

This extraordinary fern exhibits lush green leaves. With time it develops a small trunk that gives a dwarf tree-like look.

7. Rosy Maidenhair Fern

Botanical Name: Adiantum tenerum ‘Scutum Roseum’

This evergreen fern can grow up to a foot tall and has three-pinnate fronds. The new growth offers pink-flushed rosy leaves hence the name.

8. Staghorn Fern

Botanical Name: Platycerium bifurcatum

Staghorn fern is an attractive plant. The fronds grow out and appear like antlers. You can grow it on a piece of wood or hang it on the wall.

9. Lucky Lemon Fern

Botanical Name: Nephrolepis cordifolia ‘Lucky Lemon’

This variety is admired for its deep green fronds and fast growth rate. It is quite easy to grow and makes for a great houseplant.

10. Kangaroo Fern

Botanical Name: Microsorum diversifolium

Kangaroo fern offers deep green undivided fronds and has a creeping growth habit along with the soil with fuzzy stems that dangles over the sides of its pot.

11. Compact Boston Fern

Botanical Name: Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Compacta’

This compact version of the classic Boston fern, ‘Compacta,’ has arching, elegant, green fronds in a small package. It is pretty easy to grow.

12. Silver Lace Fern

Botanical Name: Pteris ensiformis ‘Evergemiensis’

One of the most charming ferns, this classy variety displays delicately divided fronds beautifully variegated in silver-white. It is one of the Most Beautiful Ferns you can grow.

13. Japanese Bird’s Nest Fern

Botanical Name: Asplenium antiquum

This variety is easy to maintain and slow-growing. It offers medium green leaves with a bit of a wave to them that looks classy!

14. Mahogany Fern

Botanical Name: Didymochlaena truncatula

It got this name due to the new fronds that grow in red-brown color before maturing to rich green. The plant does best in a little humid environment.

15. Cobra Bird’s Nest Fern

Botanical Name: Asplenium nidus ‘Cobra’

This is an amusing variation on the traditional bird’s nest fern. Its fronds are branched and divided at the tips, making it an exotic houseplant choice for any style of home decor.

16. Green Fantasy Fern

Botanical Name: Nephrolepis Exaltata ‘Green Fantasy’

A cute variant of the traditional variety, this Boston fern sibling displays finely divided fronds that bring a soft and elegant texture.

17. Florida Ruffle Boston Fern

Botanical Name: Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Florida Ruffle’

‘Florida Ruffle’ is a medium-sized variety and has more delicately divided fronds than traditional ferns giving it a softer, full appearance.

18. Lacy Tree Fern

Botanical Name: Cyathea cooperi

This stunning fern has large green leaves marked with bronze brown hairs on the bottom. It has a tree-like growing habit and develops a trunk with time.

19. Delta Maidenhair Fern

Botanical Name: Adiantum raddianum ‘Delta Maidenhair Fern’

It is a type of maidenhair fern with larger leaves than other varieties that look elegant indoors. You can also grow it in hanging baskets!

20. Sassy Fern

Botanical Name: Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Sassy’

‘Sassy’ is a smaller variety of Boston fern with a much fuller-looking foliage. It looks great on tabletops and hanging baskets.

21. Glowstar Fern

Botanical Name: Pellaea ‘Glowstar’

This compact variety has glossy, dark green fronds that are ideal for terrariums. It also blends well with humidity-loving plants.

22. Fluffy Ruffle Fern

Botanical Name: Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Fluffy Ruffle’

Just like the name, it offers soft, fluffy-textured, delicate, green, divided fronds. This miniature fern variety can grow up to 10-15 inches.

23. Brake Fern

Botanical Name: Pteris cretica ‘Mayii’

Also known as table fern or Cretan brake fern, this beautiful houseplant has a medium growth rate and variegated fronds.

24. Delilah Boston Fern

Botanical Name: Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Delilah’

This stunning fern features soft green fronds in a spherical shape. It looks amazing in hanging baskets or on tabletops.

25. Black Rabbit’s Foot Fern

Botanical Name: Davallia fejeensis

This fern variety offers beautifully divided fronds with fuzzy gray-brown rhizomes that cascade over the margins of the pot or creep beside the top of the soil.

26. Caterpillar Fern

Botanical Name: Polypodium formosanum

‘Caterpillar Fern’ displays finely separated, soft, mid-green fronds.  After maturity, it forms creeping stems along the ground that develop new leaves.

27. Blue Star Fern

Botanical Name: Phlebodium aureum mandaianum

This easy-to-grow, vigorous fern produces blue-green fronds with frilled edges. It can grow up to 10-14 inches tall and wide.

28. Bird’s Nest Fern

Botanical Name: Asplenium nidus

Bird’s nest fern has a different appearance than its family, with thick and undivided leaves that branch out from the center.

29. Crocodile Fern

Botanical Name: Microsorum musifolium

It features bright green straplike fronds that give the plant a reptilian scaly look. It can grow up to 2-3 feet long and prefers low light and high humidity. It is one of the Most Beautiful Ferns you can grow!

30. Austral Gem Fern

Botanical Name: Asplenium ‘Austral Gem’

‘Austral Gem’ is an easy-to-grow houseplant and showcases thick, waxy fronds. This fern performs well in low or medium-light and moist potting mix.

31. Blue Star Fern

Botanical Name: Polypodium aureum ‘Blue Star’

This fern has thick, leathery dark blue-green fronds with a rough texture compared to its siblings. With its curly foliage, it makes for a stunning houseplant!

32. Autumn Fern

Botanical Name: Dryopteris erythrosora

Autumn fern displays shiny green fronds blushed with bronze-orange as they develop, giving this fern its common seasonal name.

33. Wimsett Fern

Botanical Name: Pteris cretica ‘Wimsettii’

‘Wimsettii’ is an evergreen, clump-forming fern with rounded, arching, light green fronds branched into lance-shaped, erratically lobed leaves.

34. Variegated Brake Fern

Botanical Name: Pteris ensiformis ‘Evergemiensis’

This beautiful fern variety features long, narrow fronds with an attractively patterned silver-white center, which gives a plant a very attractive look. It is one of the Most Beautiful Ferns you can grow!

35. Weeping Maidenhair Fern

Botanical Name: Adiantum tenerum

This fern variety exhibits arching fronds in a bright, light green color, giving it a peculiar shape that’s ideal for hanging baskets.

36. White Rabbit’s Foot Fern

Botanical Name: Humata tyermanii

The dark green divided fronds with fuzzy gray stems resemble a cute little rabbit’s feet hence the name.

37. Bronze Venus Maidenhair Fern

Botanical Name: Adiantum hispidulum ‘Bronze Venus’

This fern has elegantly textured lush green fronds that develop a bronze shade later. It stays compact when grown in medium-sized pots.

38. Medusa Fern

Botanical Name: Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Medusa’

This exotic Boston fern family member displays arching, divided fronds that gives it a different yet attractive appearance.

39. Tiger Fern

Botanical Name: Nephrolepis exaltata ‘Tiger’

This pretty fern variety offers cascading fronds in yellow-green leaves, a perfect choice for hanging baskets. It is one of the Most Beautiful Ferns you can grow!

40. Silver Lady Fern

Botanical Name: Blechnum gibbum

Native to Pacific Islands, New Caledonia, and Fiji, it exhibits symmetrical green fronds forming a rosette above a black, slim, scaled trunk and drooping two types of leaflets like; sterile and spore-bearing.

41. East Indian Holly Fern

Botanical Name: Davallia trichmanoides

The bright green fronds have a unique golden stripe down the midrib of every lance-shaped leaflet. It prefers full to partial shade.

42. Japanese Painted Fern

Botanical Name: Athyrium niponicum “pictum”

This deciduous fern has an arching growth pattern. It displays triangular, variegated grey-green fronds with a coating of silver hue emphasized by deep maroon midribs.

43. Korean Rock Fern

Botanical Name: Polystichum tsus-simense

An ideal choice for small areas, this tufted evergreen fern offers lance-shaped, broad, leathery, shiny blue-green fronds embellished with black stems.

44. Tassel Fern

Botanical Name: Polystichum polyblepharum

Native to Japan and southern Korea, it boasts glossy dark green fronds with nicely divided overlapping pinnae. It makes a tassel of new growing fronds unfurl hence the common name.

45. Foxtail Fern

Botanical Name: Asparagus densiflorus

As the name suggests, the plat’s foliage looks like that of a fox’s tail! Though it is not an actual fern, it looks a lot like one.

46. Asparagus Fern

Botanical Name: Asparagus aethiopicus

This gorgeous plant can be grown indoors if you are willing to take the right care of it. Its lace-like foliage looks the most attractive when it is kept in a compact and bushy form.

47. Ostrich Fern

Botanical Name: Matteuccia struthiopteris

This plant is named like this because it resembles the long feathery ostrich plumes. The individual front of this one can grow up to 3-4 feet long!

48. Christmas Fern

Botanical Name: Polystichum acrostichoides

The green and glossy fronds of this plant get their best color around Christmas time. It is quite easy to grow indoors and attains a height of 2-3 feet.