Christmas Fern

Christmas Fern: The Native Evergreen Fern That Stays Green All Winter

Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) is a native evergreen fern with glossy, leathery dark green fronds that stay green through winter. Christmas fern grows 1 to 2 feet tall and wide, thrives in partial to full shade, and is hardy in USDA zones 3–9. TN Nursery ships dormant bare-root Christmas fern plants, Buy 1 Get 1 Free.

The Christmas fern plant is native to the forests of eastern North America, from Nova Scotia and southern Ontario west to Wisconsin and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. The fern belongs to the wood fern family, Dryopteridaceae, and is also called dagger fern and Christmas dagger fern. Each small leaflet has a tiny "toe" at its base shaped like a Christmas stocking.

• Botanical name: Polystichum acrostichoides, wood fern family (Dryopteridaceae)
• Also called: dagger fern, Christmas dagger fern
• Mature size: 1–2 feet tall and 1–2 feet wide, forming a neat fountain-shaped clump
• Foliage: glossy, leathery, dark green fronds with 20–35 pairs of stocking-shaped leaflets
• Season: silvery fiddleheads in April, fresh fronds by May, evergreen through winter
• Best uses: shade gardens, woodland borders, shady slopes and mass planting under trees
• Wildlife value: year-round cover for ground-feeding birds and small woodland wildlife; rarely browsed by deer or rabbits
• What ships: dormant bare-root plants in Buy 1 Get 1 Free, Buy 3 Get 2 Free, Buy 5 Get 3 Free and 25-plant wholesale bundles

Is Christmas Fern Evergreen?

Yes. Christmas fern is one of the few truly evergreen native ferns in eastern North America, and the fronds stay green from one spring to the next. Christmas fern earned its common name because the fronds are still fresh and green at Christmas, when most garden plants are dormant.

In winter, Christmas fern fronds relax and lie flat on the ground, which protects the crown under snow and fallen leaves. Each April, silvery fiddleheads rise from the center of the clump. In zones 3–4, Christmas fern keeps much of its green color for about 10 months of the year.

How Big Do Christmas Ferns Get?

Christmas ferns grow 1 to 2 feet tall and 1 to 2 feet wide, and the largest fronds can reach about 2½ feet long in rich, moist soil. Each Christmas fern grows from a single central crown, so the plant forms a tidy, fountain-shaped clump rather than a running mat.

Typical Christmas fern height after planting:

How Do You Care for a Christmas Fern?

To care for a Christmas fern, plant it in partial to full shade, in rich, well-drained soil, and keep the soil evenly moist during the first growing season. Established Christmas ferns handle short dry spells well.

Christmas fern care follows the seasons. Water once or twice a week during the first summer, then only in long dry stretches once the roots are established. Christmas fern grows well in loam and rocky woodland soil with a pH of about 5.5–7.0. No fertilizer is needed in compost-rich soil.

Where Should You Plant Christmas Ferns in the Landscape?

Plant Christmas ferns where shade gardens need year-round green: under hardwood trees, along woodland paths, on shady slopes and banks, and in beds on the north or east side of a home. Christmas fern landscaping works especially well on hillsides, because the fibrous roots hold soil in place on banks and slopes.

For an evergreen ground cover, space Christmas ferns 18 to 24 inches apart, or plant groups of 3 to 5 between spring wildflowers.

What Grows Well With Christmas Fern?

Shade-loving woodland natives grow well with Christmas fern. Spring wildflowers such as Virginia bluebells, white trillium, bloodroot and Jack-in-the-pulpit bloom between the evergreen fronds. Low carpets of wild ginger and foamflower fill the ground around each clump. For a layered fern garden, combine Christmas fern with the lacy fronds of maidenhair fern, the upright texture of lady fern and the tall, bold fronds of cinnamon fern. Browse more choices in our ferns for sale and shade perennials collections.

How Do You Plant Bare-Root Christmas Ferns?

Plant a bare-root Christmas fern with the crown level with the soil surface and the roots spread out below, then water deeply. Christmas ferns plant best while dormant, in fall or early spring, and any time the ground is workable and not frozen.

At our Altamont, Tennessee nursery, we dig Christmas ferns while dormant and ship them bare root, with no soil around the roots. Each plant arrives as a dark crown with wiry black roots, often with no fronds, which is normal for a dormant fern.

1. Soak the roots in water for 1 to 2 hours.
2. Dig a hole about 6 inches deep and twice as wide as the roots, and mix in compost or leaf mold.
3. Set the crown level with the soil surface; avoid burying the crown.
4. Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart.
5. Water deeply and cover the soil, not the crown, with 1 to 2 inches of shredded leaves.

Planting & Growing Information

Botanical Name: Polystichum acrostichoides
Plant Family: Dryopteridaceae (wood fern family)
Ships: Bare root, dormant
Planting Zone: 3–9
Height at Maturity: 1–2 feet, fronds occasionally to 2½ feet
Spread: 1–2 feet
Sun or Shade: Partial to full shade
Water Needs: Moderate; evenly moist the first season, then tolerant of short dry spells
Soil: Rich, well-drained loam or rocky woodland soil, pH about 5.5–7.0
Foliage Season: Evergreen; new fronds April–May
Flowers: Non-flowering; ferns reproduce by spores
Native Range: Eastern North America, Nova Scotia and Ontario south to Florida and Texas
Care: Water during dry spells, leave autumn leaves as mulch and trim old fronds in early spring.
Plant Attributes: Native evergreen fern, deer resistant, shade tolerant, holds soil on slopes, clump-forming

Christmas Fern FAQ

Do Christmas ferns spread?

Christmas ferns grow in tidy clumps from a single crown and widen slowly over the years, so Christmas fern stays neatly where it is planted.

Do Christmas ferns come back every year?

Yes. Christmas fern is a long-lived perennial fern that keeps green fronds through winter and sends up fresh fiddleheads every April.

What zones does Christmas fern grow in?

Christmas fern grows outdoors in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 9.

Can Christmas fern grow in full shade?

Yes. Christmas fern grows well in full shade and partial shade, including deep shade under hardwood trees.

Is Christmas fern deer resistant?

Yes. Deer and rabbits rarely browse Christmas fern.

When is the best time to plant Christmas fern?

The best time to plant bare-root Christmas fern is while the fern is dormant, in fall or early spring, whenever the ground is not frozen.

Grown and Shipped by TN Nursery

TN Nursery has grown hardy native plants since 1959, more than 65 years of experience, and has supplied plants to major U.S. landmarks like the Washington Monument and Arlington National Cemetery. At our Altamont, Tennessee nursery, we grow, dig and ship Christmas ferns and other native shade plants to gardens across the country. Want to learn more first? Read Native Fern Plants for Year-Round Greenery, 5 Favorite Hardy Native Ferns and Why Native Ferns Grow Best in Your Garden on our garden blog, or browse our shade ferns.