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Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum'

Japanese Painted Fern

The most colorful fern around with subtle shades of green, purple and red on a grey-blue background. The color is more intense with some direct sun, preferably morning or late afternoon. Strong-growing and dependable, the Lady Ferns are great garden plants. Native to China, Korea and Japan.

A. nipponicum is an trouble-free landscape plant that prefers evenly moist soils, but will tolerate long periods of drought once it is established. It is best in partial or full shade. Full sun is possible with ample moisture. Leaves color up more with a bit of sun exposure, but can be more vertical and less attractive if they receive too much sun.

Charming throughout the growing season, Japanese painted fern provides a rare departure from the greens of the shade garden with its seemingly hand-painted, airy fronds. The 12-inch fronds are silvery-gray, almost appearing metallic. But the beautiful garnet-colored veins that extend to the tips of the leaflets really steal the show.

Athyrium nipponicum is native to Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other adjacent countries. The cultivar 'Pictum' is probably of Japanese origin, differing from the species in its more decorative color. 'Pictum' forms dense clumps when established, but it first sends up curled crosiers, sometimes called fiddleheads, which unfurl into gracefully tapered leaves. 'Pictum' was named a 2002 Growers' Choice Award recipient by Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association. Winners are selected based on a set of criteria that considers ornamental quality, hardiness, pest resistance, seasonal interest, site adaptability and market availability. Greenbeam.com

Japanese painted fern is one of the most popular cultivated ferns. It is a deciduous fern with a weeping habit which typically grows to 18" tall and features a slowly spreading clump of triangular, variegated fronds (to 20" long). Fronds are a soft grayish-green with an overlay of silvery hues accented by contrasting dark maroon midribs. The spore-producing structure called sori are located in a herringbone pattern along the veins of the pinnules. Synonymous with and sometime sold as Athyrium goeringianum 'Pictum'. Kemper Center for Home Gardening


Athyrium nipponicum 'Pictum' is one of many ferns suitable for the rock garden. The species is native to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and other adjacent countries. This plant has been previously known under the names Athyrium goeringianum 'Pictum' and Athyrium iseanum 'Pictum' and may still be offered under those names. The cultivated form 'Pictum' is probably of Japanese origin, differing from the species in its more decorative color. The fronds of a single plant vary in color; the scan shown of two fronds from the same plant illustrate the point. The rachis (upper stem) of the frond varies in the extent of its garnet color, in some fronds extending into the veins of its pinnae (leaflets). Fronds may have varied amounts of a bluish gray color, contrasting well with the green of the lower pinnae and the bluish gray of the upper and outer parts of the frond. The plant's height is usually about 1' (30 cm). North American Rock Garden Society