Shade Ferns
Ferns are the easiest way to turn a dark, bare corner into a cool green garden. Every fern in this collection grows in shade, and most are native to the eastern woodlands around our Tennessee farm.
Showing 13 of 13 shade ferns
All Ferns
Ferns For Shade
Ferns For Sun
Ferns For Cold Zones
Easy Ferns To GrowChoosing a Shade Fern
Tall Ferns for the Back of a Bed
Giant Ostrich Fern grows into tall, vase-shaped clumps and spreads to fill moist ground. Cinnamon Fern sends up rusty fertile fronds in spring that give the plant its name.
Medium Ferns for Mass Planting
Lady Fern, Hay Scented Fern and New York Fern spread into soft drifts. Hay-scented fern smells like fresh-cut hay when you brush past it.
Evergreen and Unusual Ferns
Christmas Fern stays green all winter. Maidenhair Fern has black stems and delicate fan-shaped leaflets, and Walking Fern roots at the tips of its fronds as it creeps over mossy rocks.
Ferns for Wet Shade
Sensitive Fern and Fiddlehead Fern like damp soil near streams and downspouts.
Save With a Fern Pack
The 10 Shade Fern Starter Pack and the Hardy Fern Trio are the most affordable way to plant several at once.
Planting Tips
Plant ferns with the crown at the soil surface, water well and mulch with shredded leaves. Our post Do Ferns Like Sun or Shade? explains which ferns handle more light. TN Nursery has grown ferns since 1959, and every order is guaranteed to arrive alive. See all ferns for sale.
Buying shade ferns online: what to know
Start with your zone. Every shade fern on this page shows the zones it thrives in, so one marked for your zone is ready for your winters and summers.
Plan for the grown-up shade fern
Check the mature height on each card before you choose a spot, so every shade fern has room to stretch as it grows.
Bare root, ready to plant
Bare root plants arrive freshly dug and packed ready for planting. Soak the roots, set the shade fern at the depth it grew, and water it in well. Most thrive in well-drained soil and a few inches of mulch.
Ask a grower
Want a second opinion? Call our growers at 931-692-4252, or read the warranty page to see how our live-arrival guarantee works.
Shade Ferns for sale: questions
Do you ship shade ferns outside Tennessee?
Yes. We grow in Tennessee and ship nationwide.
How do the shade ferns arrive?
Each product page says how it ships. Bare root plants arrive freshly dug and packed ready for planting.
Is there a guarantee?
Every order comes with our live-arrival guarantee. See the warranty page for the details.
How do I pick a shade fern for my zone?
Set your zone at the top of the page and turn on the zone switch. Every card shows the zones the shade fern thrives in.
Which fern does best in shade?
What ferns do deer not eat?
What fern does not need sunlight?
Not sure which shade fern is right?
Talk to a grower at our Tennessee nursery. Tell us your zone and your yard, and we will help you choose a shade fern that thrives there.
Why buy shade ferns from TN Nursery
Grown since 1959
A family-owned Tennessee nursery, growing plants for generations of gardeners.
Freshly dug, bare root
Dug and packed ready for planting, so roots settle in fast.
Shipped nationwide
We grow in Tennessee and ship nationwide.
Live-arrival guarantee
Every order comes with our live-arrival guarantee.
