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Polystichum acrostichoides Christmas fern
Christmas fern
Characteristics
Descriptions
Light Requirements
part-shade, shade
Soil Moisture
dry, moist
Soil Description
acid, rich, average, loam, clay, sand, gravel/rock
Height
1'-2'
Recommended Spacing
12"-18"
Hardiness Zone
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Description
Polystichum acrostichoides is a stout and robust evergreen species that forms neat, somewhat asymmetrical, vase-shaped clumps up to 2’ tall with erect to arching stems and deep-green, leathery leaflets. The fronds emerge as hairy and silvery fiddleheads that arevery ornamental in their own right, and turn dark green as they mature. The foliage deteriorates late winter to early spring, just before the new growth emerges. It can be removed to maintain a well-kempt appearance, or left in place to create a natural mulch and weed barrier.
Cultivation
Christmas ferns are highly adaptable and will perform admirably in rich, well-drained soils as well as lean, rocky ones. Its native habitat includes open deciduous forests that receive a lot of moisture from fall through spring, but then dry out during the summer months. It is also found along woodland margins that are exposed to a lot of direct morning and/or afternoon light, but are sheltered from the scorching mid-day sun. The root system consists of a thick rhizome and spreading fibrous roots that are very effective at preventing erosion and stabilizing soil on steep banks and bluffs where it is often found growing in abundance. This fern stays in place, forming dense clumps over time. Under ideal conditions it will naturalize via spores, but this far from being an aggressive species and the process is slow. It is beautiful when planted as a specimen, or in large groups. It can be combined with a wide variety of shade-loving plants, including sedges for a striking textural contrast and creating a formidable groundcover. Zones 3-8
Recommended Spacing
Space plants 12"-18" on center.
Additional Notes
The genus is derived from the Greek words poly, meaning many or multiple, and stichos, meaning rows. This is a reference to the rows of spore cases (sori) on the underside of the fern’s leaflets. The specific epithet acrostichoides gets a bit more complicated, so bear with me. Acros, is also a word of Greek origin, meaning uppermost or topmost. Then there is a recurring reference to the word stichos, and lastly the suffix -oides that means looks like. So, the specific epithet means that this fern looks like ferns in the Acrostichum genus that have the common feature of dense rows of sori under the uppermost leaflets of the fronds. The origin of the common name Christmas fern is debated. Although it does remain evergreen through Christmas, one theory is that the individual leaflets are shaped just like Christmas stockings. It may also be because people have gathered it as decoration for the Christmas holiday.
Pricing & Availability
Would you like your plants shipped later? You may choose to do so in the shopping cart.
Note: Early spring shipments might include plants that have not yet broken dormancy, or have not been vernalized and will be frost-tender. Please use your best judgment when selecting your preferred ship week.
Note: Early spring shipments might include plants that have not yet broken dormancy, or have not been vernalized and will be frost-tender. Please use your best judgment when selecting your preferred ship week.
Did you know? When plants are available from multiple growers, we list growers closest to your location first.
Why choose plants from the nearest grower? Choosing a the grower closest to you makes it more likely the plants are consistent with your ecoregion and better adapted to your location. In addition, shipping plants shorter distances typically uses fewer resources, something we can all get behind!
Why choose plants from the nearest grower? Choosing a the grower closest to you makes it more likely the plants are consistent with your ecoregion and better adapted to your location. In addition, shipping plants shorter distances typically uses fewer resources, something we can all get behind!
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Maps, Wetland Status & More
MAP OF NATIVE RANGE
Recorded County Distribution: USDA data.
Native To
| AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN, VA, VT, WI, WV, FL, LA, TX |
Legal Status
| Exploitably Vulnerable | NY |
| Threatened | MN |
Wetland Status
| Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain | FACU |
| Eastern Mountains and Piedmont | FACU |
| Great Plains | FACU |
| Midwest | UPL |
| Northcentral and Northeast | FACU |
MAP OF WETLAND DELINEATION REGIONS
Interpreting Wetland Status
|
Code |
Status |
Designation |
Comment |
|
OBL |
Obligate Wetland |
Hydrophyte |
Almost always occur in wetlands |
|
FACW |
Facultative Wetland |
Hydrophyte |
Usually occur in wetlands, but may occur in non-wetlands |
|
FAC |
Facultative |
Hydrophyte |
Occur in wetlands and non-wetlands |
|
FACU |
Facultative Upland |
Nonhydrophyte |
Usually occur in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands |
|
UPL |
Obligate Upland |
Nonhydrophyte |
Almost never occur in wetlands |
Classification
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants |
| Division | Pteridophyta | Ferns |
| Class | Filicopsida | |
| Order | Polypodiales | |
| Family | Dryopteridaceae | Wood Fern family |
| Genus | Polystichum | hollyfern |
| Species | Polystichum acrostichoides | Christmas fern |
Plant Sizes
Sizes Sizes
Sizes info
Shipping & Planting
SHIPPING INFO:
Shipping is free on all plants orders!
Your plants will ship using each grower’s preferred method: FedEx Ground, UPS Ground, or Spee-Dee Ground (in select midwestern states). Our growers ship orders Monday through Wednesday. The farther your plants need to travel, the earlier in the week they will ship. The goal is to have all plants delivered by the end of the week.
Shipping plugs:
Plugs are shipped in full flats, sometimes also referred to as trays. Multiple flats can be shipped in a single box. The flats are wrapped in netting or craft paper to secure the plants, and spacers are used between flats to keep the plants from being crushed.
When you unpack your plugs, the plants will have been somewhat flattened by the netting or craft paper. They will straighten out within a couple of days. You may also gently “fluff” them a bit to speed up the process. In some cases, your plants might have been cut back before packing, if the grower deemed them to have become too tall for safe packaging. Don’t worry, though, these guys know what they’re doing and would not compromise the health of the plants. They’ll fill back in in no time.
After receiving your plants’ journey in a dark box, it will be important to acclimate them to sunlight again. Over a couple of days, you should gradually move them into their preferred light exposure, and water them as per their requirement.
Although we always recommend putting your plants in the ground as soon as possible, they can stay healthy in the flats for a considerable amount of time. The key is to respect their growing requirements: if the species requires full sun, do not store them in the shade. If it is best adapted to dry soil, do not over-water.
PLANTING INFO:
Planting plugs:
We consider plugs ready to ship when the plants’ roots have filled the entire liner cell and the plants can easily be pulled out. In some cases you will have to go about it gently, wiggling the plant by the crown, and possibly squeezing the bottom of the liner to compress the growing medium and release the roots. Other times, the plants will appear to be root bound. They are not in the traditional sense. The plants are healthy but they have used up all the growing medium available to them. Plugs are at an aggressive stage of growth. As soon as planted the roots will immediately expand into your native soil. They establish faster than plants in larger containers, because they don’t have the luxury of a lot of growing media that can inhibit the roots from venturing outside of their comfort zone.
We are not going to address area preparation because the process can be complex and is always site-specific. However, as a rule, we recommend disturbing the soil as little as possible, and we do not recommend amending the soil. If you chose the right plant for the right conditions they will thrive. Any disturbance and amendments will only encourage weeds to emerge that never had a chance to do so before.
Installing plugs cannot be easier: dig a hole large enough for the roots to fit snugly inside, then water them in to eliminate air gaps. We recommend using a soil knife, sometimes referred to as hori hori, or a drill-adapted auger if it’s a large installation. If you use an auger, you will need a powerful drill. Depending on the size of the project and the type of soil, the process can be beyond what an average drill will bear. Mulching is recommended after installation to help keep weeds down while the plants establish. Be sure to keep it away from the crown of the plants. For large projects, you may want to mulch the area before planting, rather than tiptoeing through it after the fact. As a side note: if you are installing plugs in the fall, you might want to plant them so that the crown is about ¾” lower than the surrounding soil. The winter’s freeze/thaw cycles can push plugs out if the roots did not have enough time to establish and anchor them in.