How to grow ferns and best varieties

Ferns might lack flowers, but they're great plants for a shady spot. Many are evergreen and most have intricately cut leaves that are as beautiful as any bloom. 

Which? Gardening magazine grew a range of popular varieties to see which would thrive in a shady spot. We share recommended ferns and explain how to care for ferns.

Breathe new life into your outside spaces. Sign up for our Gardening newsletter, it's free monthly

Key facts

PLANT TYPE Herbaceous perennial 

POSITION Shade or part shade

SOIL Dry or moist, depending on variety

How to grow ferns: month by month

Best fern varieties

Which? members can log in now to see the full results and detailed reviews of our Best Buy varieties. If you’re not a member, join Which? to get instant access.

Caring for ferns

Planting 

Ferns are best planted in the cooler, wetter seasons of spring and autumn. Almost all varieties prefer shade, with some happy in beds and borders that have a little sun for part of the day. Varieties can differ in their preference for dry or moist but well-drained soils. Check the ideal growing conditions for the variety you want to buy. 

All varieties like a soil that’s rich in organic matter, as this helps to retain moisture while improving drainage. Water your plants well in the first year when they're establishing. 

Help your plants by adding a recommended soil improver

Pruning

Remove old fronds once they start to go brown. These can be left on over winter but removing them will keep the crown of the plant free from wet, decaying organic material. 

Try our Best Buy secateurs

Mulching

Most ferns don’t need to be fed, but if your soil conditions are poor, add a balanced feed, such as Growmore, in the spring. Mulch your plants with soil improver in the spring to add organic matter and help retain moisture. 

Problems 

Most ferns don't suffer from many problems, although they can dry out in hot, dry weather. 

Slugs and snails may eat newly emerging crosiers, so use organic pellets.

Understanding ferns

Ferns are botanically very different to other plants in your garden. They don’t flower and so reproduce from spores rather than seeds. The spores are formed in spore casings - the small brown dots you see on the back of the ‘leaves’. These are called fronds, as they have this additional function compared with the leaves of flowering plants. The fronds are referred to as crosiers when they unfurl in spring. 

Do ferns come back every year?

Ferns can be deciduous, meaning they lose their fronds in winter, or, in some cases, through summer heat. Some are referred to as semi-evergreen, as most of the fronds go brown over winter and are replaced with new fronds in spring. 

Do ferns like sun or shade?

Most ferns prefer shade, but some will tolerate a bit of sun, provided they are kept moist. Ferns grow in a variety of settings in the wild, with some preferring a dry forest floor, while others thrive on rocky outcrops. A few prefer a permanently wet situation, on the banks of a stream or at the side of a waterfall.

How we test ferns for shade

In spring 2020, a researcher at Which? Gardening chose 20 varieties of ferns, all suitable for growing in full or partial shade. Most hold an RHS Award of Garden Merit (AGM). 

We planted them at our trial grounds at Capel Manor in north London, and at Greenbank Garden near Glasgow. We planted the ferns in north London in March, just before the first lockdown, but the plants bound for Glasgow were delayed. As a result, many of the plants were in a poor state when they arrived and some didn’t survive. 

We grew the ferns until  autumn 2021 in Glasgow and until spring 2022 in north London. We assessed them every two weeks to see whether they were dormant, starting into growth in spring, or in full leaf. We regularly assessed them for the impact of the fronds and crosiers (leaves and unfurling leaves - see below for details) and how healthy they were.