Athyrium niponicum ‘Metallicum’

Athyrium niponicum var. pictum ‘Metallicum’ is commonly known as a Japanese Painted Lady Fern and is a truly ornamental, elegant deciduous fern that forms beautiful rosettes of arching, refined, bipinnate fronds. These lance shaped leaves shimmer beautifully with a silver gray almost metallic color, contrasted with subtle burgundy veination. The elegant arching mounds spread gradually. Ferns are absolutely perfect for the shade garden and this one will provide silver and green color for all your dark corners. The lacy fronds of ferns often soften the texture and look of other shade dwellers like hosta, astillbe, and tiarella. They thrive in naturalized settings so plant them in a woodland setting with loamy soil, near evergreens. To best care for ferns allow the foliage to remain over the winter to create a natural mulch. Clip off the dead and damaged leaves in the spring. Let this shade lover shine in all the darkest corners of your landscape. [Wayside Gardens]