Horticulture Report: Christmas Fern
Plant Name: Polystichum acrostichoides
Common name: Christmas Fern
Plant Type: Evergreen Fern
Plant Height: 1’ – 2’
Spread: 1’ – 2’
Bloom Time: N/A
Flower Color: N/A
Exposure: Part Shade to Full Shade
Soil Requirements: Organically Rich, Well-Drained; does not tolerate clay soil.
Water Needs: Dry to Medium
Attributes: Winter Interest; Deer Resistant; Young fiddleheads are silvery & scaled in spring.
Note: Plant Rhizomes at angle to avoid crown rot.
Uses: Borders; Ground Cover, but plant next to each other as does not spread; massing on slopes to control erosion.
Native to: Eastern North America
Oregon Native: NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 9
Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC member & Master Gardener
Photo credit: Wiki Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Christmas_Fern_(6928030406).jpg Author: Virginia State Parks staff / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)