Save 20% on this package of popular ferns!

If you have a shady patch of garden desperate for texture and color, this package offers two of our most popular ferns at an incredible price. Absolutely stunning, the platinum sage foliage of Pictum is accentuated by purple veins as though someone traced her lines in lavender ink. The color of this fern is so unique people will stop in your garden just to get a closer look.

But when you combine Pictum with the infamous golden-bronze fronds and explosive chartreuse foliage of Osmunda cinnamomea, you literally create a riot of color that lights up a shaded area. Osmunda is the larger of the two ferns promising to grow between 3 and 5 feet in height while Pictum will remain slightly more compact at around 1 1/2 feet.

Often gardeners will use Pictum like a lacey silver necklace around the towering topaz fronds and gleaming green foliage of Osmunda in the background. At this price, you won't find a more stunning shade combination.

This package includes: - 25 Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum' (Japanese Painted) ferns in 3 1/2 inch pots - 25 Osmunda cinnamomea (Cinnamon) ferns as bare roots (please read about bare root plants so you know what to expect) Click the links below for more information and photographs of the plants (you may purchase the plants separately if you wish). You may specify any ship date when you checkout.

Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum' (Japanese Painted) ferns are beautiful, easy to grow low-maintenance perennials. They are dwarf ferns and one of the showiest ferns for shade gardens. Emerging fronds are metallic pewter with a reddish/bluish blush and burgundy stems. Mature fronds hold color and contrast with emerging fronds to form a compact clump. Very cold hardy (including southern parts of zone 3). Naturalizes well by short, branching rhizomes and can form dense colonies in optimum growing conditions. Good for borders.

Clumps can grow to two feet wide and can be divided in early spring every 3-4 years. Good for erosion control. Winter dormant (fronds may be trimmed to the ground in late fall or early spring). Spacing: 12-16" inches, mature height 12-16", deer resistant. Moderate growth rate. [ more information ]

Osmunda cinnamomea (Cinnamon) ferns have "fiddleheads" that emerge from the center of a symmetric clump and unfurl into large, erect, pinnately-compound, yellowish-green, sterile fronds (2-4' long) which fade to yellow in autumn, later turning golden brown before dying back for winter. The fertile fronds emerge in spring from the center of the plant, standing above the vaselike cluster of sterile fronds. Green at first, they soon turn a rich cinnamon color. The fertile fronds are covered with abundant masses of brownish sporangia and die back after shedding their spores in late summer.

Cinnamon ferns are particularly well suited for the edge of a pond or stream, or in moist borders. As an accent, a clump of cinnamon fern adds a lush, tropical look and a dramatic effect to moist, shady areas. Slow to moderate growth rate, requires moist soil. Winter dormant, best to leave dead fronds over winter to protect the crown. Deer tend to avoid. One of the few groundcovers that will grow under walnut trees. The young unexpanded fronds are eaten as a nibble or cooked in soups. The latent buds can be eaten in early spring, they rival chestnuts in size and flavor. Spacing 25-30". Mature height 30"-60". [ more information ]

If planting in zone 3, check with your local extension to confirm winter hardiness in your area.

Specifications:

No unusual shipping concerns for this plant.

Performs best in well-drained (but moist) soil with added organic compost or peat moss. Best not to allow soil to dry out. Ferns have delicate foliage that often suffers during shipment and transplanting. Cut off any foliage that is broken, bent, brown or yellow - the plants will quickly recuperate with fresh growth. Bare root ferns are particularly prone to foliage loss, it is not uncommon to have to cut them off at ground level when transplanting. As long as the roots are firm they will recover, showing new growth within weeks during warm months.