Dryopteris Species, Autumn Fern, Japanese Shield Fern

Love, love love autumn ferns in pots. They are evergreen in the Dallas Ft Worth area and super easy to grow. Look very delicate but are...Read More tough. Most of my potted ferns survived the unusual 5 degree snow storm. Half had to be replaced after the ensuing monsoon. Always available in spring at Lowes for $7.99 a quart.
They will burn in any kind of sun, even the slightest bit of hot sun is just too much. I find the ferns tolerate our clay soil with amendments but are not near as healthy as my potted ferns. Keep them in filtered or full shade. In the hot summer, they only need to be watered once a week. Be sure to space them at least two feet apart. I planted some too close together and they were crowded after two years.
A mix of red fancy caladiums with the ferns puts on quite a show.

Easy, adaptable, evergreen, glossy. Forms a clump that does not spread. The fronds lie flat in the winter with the weight of snow, and sh...Read Moreould be cut back in early spring before the new fronds emerge.

The common name comes from the autumnal, reddish to orange tints of the new fronds, which emerge successively all season and turn dark green as they mature. This species does nothing notable in autumn.

I really like autumn fern. It is not really, as someone else said, a "small" fern. It is at least as large as Japanese Painted fern, an...Read Mored its fronds lie more prostrate, so it has a larger footprint, with older fronds arching to the ground. A mature fern easily covers a 3-foot diameter. This fern seems to be very robust, and has survived in my dry-shade-clayey site where other ferns have perished. I recently planted the 'Brilliance' cultivar also, but they seem more delicate than the species. Time will tell. This fern is evergreen and can survive the most bitter cold in New Jersey, however, it can only withstand snowfall of about six-to-eight inches. If you get a foot of snow, the fronds will be plastered to the ground and will not get back up again (until new fronds emerge in spring). They say good things are worth waiting for, and with autumn fern you do have to wait! They are slow to get going in the spring. Today is May 19, and although Brilliance has opened some fronds, my older autumn ferns are just getting their fronds unfurled now, and will probably have some fronds fully open in another week or so. So I do not expect to see the fern in all its glory for perhaps another 3 weeks. Early June! But it's nice to have something to look forward to in the shade.

Bought four of these plants from Lowe's along with some other sized ferns and plantings to accent the sides of my newly built stone stair...Read Moreway going down a bluff to the lower level of our property.

These are absolutely striking plants and look wonderful! They are only about 1' high right now and should double in size. Looking forward to watching them grow and fill out!

Planted along with Hosta's, Male Fern, Ostrich Fern, Hydrangea, Astilbe, and Liriope.