Deparia petersenii

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Deparia petersenii

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Kemper Code: V540

Common Name: Japanese lady fern
Zone: 6 to 9
Plant Type: Fern
Family: Woodsiaceae
Missouri Native: No
Native Range: Indochina to Taiwan, Japan to Australia and New Zealand, Polynesia
Height: 1 to 2 feet
Spread: 1 to 2 feet
Bloom Time: Non-flowering Bloom Data
Bloom Color: Non-flowering
Sun: Part shade to full shade
Water: Medium to wet
Maintenance: Medium

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Plant Culture and Characteristics

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Uses:		Wildlife:	Flowers:	Leaves:	Fruit:
Hedge	Suitable as annual	Attracts birds	Has showy flowers	Leaves colorful	Has showy fruit
Shade tree	Culinary herb	Attracts	Has fragrant flowers	Leaves fragrant	Fruit edible
Street tree	Vegetable	hummingbirds	Flowers not showy	Good fall color	Other:
Flowering tree	Water garden plant	Attracts	Good cut flower	Evergreen	Winter interest
Gr. cover (<1')	Will naturalize	butterflies	Good dried flower		Thorns or spines

General Culture:

Easily grown in average, medium to wet soils in part shade to full shade. Prefers moist, rich, humusy soils. May not be reliably winter hardy throughout USDA Zone 5 where it should be grown in a protected location. Consider leaving dead fronds as a winter mulch.

Noteworthy Characteristics:

Japanese lady fern (sometimes also called black lady fern) is a deciduous fern which typically grows to 18" tall (occasionally to 24") and as wide. Features attractive blackish-green, upright arching, triangular fronds. Sori are arranged in a herringbone pattern on the undersides of the pinnae. Fiddleheads begin to unfurl in late spring after most other ferns are already leafed out. Spreads slowly by creeping rhizomes. Synonymous with and sometimes sold as Athyrium japonicum or Lunathyrium japonicum.

Problems:

No serious insect or disease problem. Winter hardiness in the St. Louis area is a concern.

Uses:

Mass or group in woodland or shade gardens.