Easy Ferns To Grow

Buy Easy Ferns to Grow Online From a Tennessee Nursery

Hardy native ferns are some of the easiest plants you can grow. They need no fertilizer or deadheading, are naturally hardy, and come back every spring without replanting. Give them shade and moist soil, and most will spread into a full, lush bed within a few seasons. TN Nursery has grown and shipped plants from Altamont, Tennessee, since 1959, so every fern you order comes from a family farm rather than a warehouse. Single ferns start at $7.99.

How to Choose an Easy Fern

• What’s your growing zone? Use the zone filter above. Every fern here is hardy to at least zone 3 or 4, and most grow through zone 8 or 9.
• How much shade do you have? Most easy ferns want part to full shade. For brighter spots, see our sun ferns .
• Clump or spread? Christmas and cinnamon ferns stay in tidy clumps. Ostrich, hay-scented and bracken ferns spread by runners to cover ground fast.

The Easiest Ferns for Beginners

Christmas Fern is the most forgiving fern we grow. It handles dry shade, clay soil and cold winters, and it stays green all year. Giant Ostrich Fern grows fast into tall, vase-shaped clumps in moist shade. Cinnamon Fern thrives in damp, soggy spots, and it sends up cinnamon-colored fertile fronds each spring. Bracken Fern is the toughest of all; it takes sun, poor soil and drought.

Easy Ferns for Covering Large Areas

To fill a shady slope or woodland edge on a budget, start with a bundle. Our 15 Hardy Ferns and 25-Fern Naturalizing Landscape Bundle mix proven native varieties at a lower cost per plant. The Hardy Fern Trio is an easy way to try three species in one bed.

How to Care for Easy Ferns

Plant ferns at the same depth they grew, with the crown at soil level. Water deeply once or twice a week through the first summer. After that, most need water only in long dry spells. Add 2–3 inches of shredded leaves or mulch to keep roots cool and moist. Cut back old brown fronds in late winter, before new fiddleheads unroll. That’s all the care hardy outdoor ferns need.

When Easy Ferns Ship

We ship ferns bare root, freshly dug and packed ready for planting. Fall and early spring are the best times to plant, so roots settle in before summer heat. See our planting instructions for step-by-step help, or browse ferns for shade , ferns for cold zones and our full fern collection .

FAQ

What is the easiest fern to grow outdoors? Christmas fern. It tolerates dry shade, poor soil and cold to zone 3, and it stays green all winter. Ostrich fern is the easiest choice for moist, shady spots.

Are ferns easy to take care of? Hardy outdoor ferns are very easy. Once established, they need no fertilizer, little watering and only a quick spring cleanup. Tropical indoor ferns like Boston fern take more work because they need steady humidity.

What are the different types of outdoor ferns? Popular hardy outdoor ferns include Christmas, ostrich, cinnamon, lady, hay-scented, New York, maidenhair, sensitive and bracken fern. All are native to North America and come back every year.

Do ferns come back every year? Yes. Hardy outdoor ferns are perennials. Most die back in fall and regrow from the roots in spring; Christmas fern stays green all winter.

Do ferns like sun or shade? Most ferns prefer part to full shade and moist soil. A few, like bracken and sensitive fern, handle more sun if their roots stay moist.

Do you ship ferns outside Tennessee? Yes. We grow in Tennessee and ship nationwide.

What if my plant doesn’t arrive alive? Every order comes with our live-arrival guarantee. See our warranty for details.