- Home
- Ferns
Ferns
Ferns love our damp Irish weather and come in a fascinating range of sizes, forms, shades, and textures—from the tiny and delicate maidenhair ferns to the tall and dramatic tree ferns.
Learn more about choosing and planting plants in our advice section and find even more information in our resources section.
Potted ferns | all year round
Potted ferns are available all year, but the best selection, and the best time to plant, is in spring (March to May) and early autumn (September to October).
Adiantum pedatum Imbricatum
€4.00
Aleutian Maidenhair Fern Imbricatu A lovely, dwarf fern for little, shady spaces, Adiantum pedatum Imbricatum syn with Adiantum aleuticum Imbricatum is a semi-evergreen fern (sometimes winter-dormant), with a spreading habit, forming a rather congested mound. The leaves overlap on the slender, black stems, forming pale, bluish-green fronds, som...
Adiantum venustum
Adiantum venustum
€4.00
Evergreen Maidenhair Fern A beautiful fern for small, shady spaces, Adiantum venustum is an evergreen, rhizomatous fern (deciduous in cooler areas), with a spreading habit. The fan-shaped leaves sit close together on the slender, black stems, forming ovate green fronds, which can turn an attractive rusty-brown in autumn in cooler areas. Evergre...
Asplenium scolopendrium
Asplenium scolopendrium
€5.00
Hart’s Tongue Fern A native Irish fern, Asplenium scolopendrium is a small, rich green, hardy, clump-forming evergreen fern with broad strap-like leaves with wavy edges, a vivid contrast to lacier ferns. It is often seen at the foot of stone walls – it likes the lime from the mortar, although it will tolerate most well-drained soils, even dry on...
Athyrium filix-femina
Athyrium filix-femina
€4.00
Lady Fern A native Irish fern, Athyrium filix-femina is a large, deciduous, shuttlecock fern with an elegant, upright habit and pale green, arching leaves. Similar to the male fern, but more delicate in appearance – a particularly graceful fern. Needs a moist, though not waterlogged soil, and will thrive near water. An exceptionally hardy fern,...
Athyrium niponicum pictum
€8.00
Japanese Painted Fern Related to the lady fern, Athyrium niponicum var. pictum is a small to medium-sized, deciduous fern which forms an elegant rosette of delicate leaves in subtle shades of pink and grey-green with a plum coloured mid-rib. Hardy, and much tougher than it looks, it will thrive in moist shade, and slowly spread to form colonies ...
Athyrium otophorum Okanum
€4.00
Eared Lady Fern Originally from Japan, Athyrium otophorum var. okanum is a tall, deciduous, clump-forming fern, with broad, arching, finely divided leaves. The foliage opens pale golden-green and turns light green, with purplish-crimson mid-ribs and stems. A wonderful plant for making a patch of brilliance in of a shady border with humus-rich ...
Blechnum spicant
Blechnum spicant
€10.00
Hard Fern A hardy and very handsome native Irish fern, Blechnum spicant is an evergreen, clump-forming fern with two types of frond. The emerging sterile fronds, arching over almost parallel to the ground, are a shining, bright green, leathery with wavy edges, and divided singly, giving them a ladder-like look. Taller, more upright, green, ferti...
Cyrtomium fortunei var. Clivicola
€5.00
Dwarf Japanese Holly Fern An attractive little fern for shady parts of the garden, Cyrtomium fortunei var. clivicola is a small, perennial, clump-forming, evergreen fern, with arching, divided, bright olive-green fronds. These have broad, papery, rather holly-like leaflets with a yellowish tinge, brighter in deeper shade. A good fern for underpl...
Dicksonia antarctica - Tree Fern
Dicksonia antarctica - Tree Fern
€35.00
Dicksonia antarctica - Soft Tree-Fern Native to coastal parts of Australia, Dicksonia antarctica is a magnificent, slow-growing, evergreen tree-fern (deciduous in colder areas) and one of the easiest to grow. The brown, fibrous ‘stem’ slowly grows taller, crowned by a rosette of beautiful, glossy, deep green fronds up to three metres long – a wo...
Dryopteris affinis
Dryopteris affinis
€4.00
Scaly Male Fern Also known as the golden-scaled male fern, Dryopteris affinis is one of our native Irish ferns, found most commonly in damp deciduous woodland and shady hedgerows, but also on dry heaths in damper, western areas. It’s often an indicator of ancient woodland. Scaly male fern is a tough, vigorous, deciduous or semi-evergreen fern wh...
Dryopteris affinis Cristata The King
€4.00
Scaly Male Fern Cristata The King Named for its handsome, long, crested fronds, Dryopteris affinis Cristata The King is a tough, clump-forming, semi-evergreen fern which forms a shuttlecock-shaped rosette of heavily divided, upright fronds with golden scales on the stems and a crested tip on each frondlet. The upright fronds emerge bright golden...
Dryopteris affinis Pinderi
Dryopteris affinis Pinderi
€4.00
Pinder’s Golden-scaled Male Fern A large, elegant, adaptable fern, Dryopteris affinis Pinderi is an evergreen to semi-evergreen, clump-forming fern with an upright, shuttlecock habit, arching out to quite a width. The narrow, lance-shaped, sharply-pointed fronds emerge yellow-green, turning deep green, and develop golden scales along the mid-ri...
Dryopteris filix-mas
Dryopteris filix-mas
€8.00
Male Fern A handsome, robust Irish native, Dryopteris filix-mas is a vigorous, semi-evergreen, clump-forming fern which has a strong presence in a shady border and is ideal for woodland planting. The fronds emerge like beautiful, light green croziers in spring, maturing to mid-green in summer. Tall, with an elegant ‘shuttlecock’ habit, it’s extr...
Matteuccia struthiopteris
Matteuccia struthiopteris
€4.00
Ostrich Fern One of the most beautiful ferns for a damp or even a wet site, Matteuccia struthiopteris is known as the ostrich fern for its beautiful, fresh green, feather-like sterile fronds. These surround shorter, brown fertile ones at the centre. It’s a tall (up to 6’/1.8m), vigorous, deciduous fern with an elegant, upright to arching ‘shutt...
Osmunda regalis Purpurascens
Osmunda regalis Purpurascens
€12.00
Royal Fern Purpurascens A smaller cultivar of the majestic royal fern, Osmunda regalis Purpurascens is a clump-forming, deciduous fern, whose long, arching, heavily divided fronds emerge beautifully tinged reddish-purple before turning bright green in summer and yellow, then brown, in autumn. In late summer, rusty brown, spore-bearing ‘tassels’ ...
Polystichum polyblepharum
Polystichum polyblepharum
€10.00
Japanese Tassel Fern A wonderful fern for year-round interest in shady, well-drained borders, Polystichum polyblepharum is a clump-forming, evergreen, perennial fern with an upright but wide, ‘shuttle-cock’ habit. The stiff, upright, lance-shaped, finely divided fronds unfurl covered in thick, light-catching, golden hairs, then turn green, and a...
Polystichum setiferum
Polystichum setiferum
€4.00
Soft Shield Fern A hardy native Irish fern, Polystichum setiferum is a clump-forming, semi-evergreen, perennial fern with a spreading, rosette-like habit, ideal for growing under trees or in a shady, well-drained border. The elegant, soft, lance-shaped, finely divided fronds are mid-green, and persist almost until the new, crozier-like fronds un...
Arachnoides aristata variegata
€7.00
East Indian Holly Fern An unusual and beautiful fern for milder areas, Arachnoides aristata Variegata will light up a partially shady bed or border. It’s an evergreen, clump-forming fern with robust, deep blue-green, heavily divided fronds with a cream to lime-green stripe along the mid-rib and rather finger-like leaflets. Although reasonably h...
Asplenium scol. Angustatum
€5.00
Narrow Hart’s Tongue Fern With narrower leaves with more deeply serrated edges than the common hart’s tongue fern, Asplenium scolopendrium ‘Angustatum' syn. with Asplenium scolopendrium ‘Angustifolia' is a small, bright green, hardy, evergreen fern which contrasts well with lacier ferns or perennials. Prefers slightly alkaline, moist soils, but...
Asplenium scolopendrium Cristata (Cristatum)
€4.00
Crested Hart’s Tongue Fern A form of the common hart’s tongue fern with crested, divided tips to the leaves, Asplenium scolopendrium ‘Cristata’ is a small, bright green, hardy, evergreen fern. Prefers slightly alkaline, moist but well-drained soils, and will adapt to dry conditions when established. Crested hart’s tongue fern thrives in deep sh...