Athyrium filix-femina 'Victoriae'

Athyrium filix-femina 'Victoriae': Crisscrossed Fronds With Victorian Flair

Most ferns are lacy. This one is LACE WITH A PLOT TWIST. The little leaflets cross in X shapes and finish in tiny forked crests, like every frond is wearing crisscross straps to a garden party.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Athyrium filix-femina 'Victoriae'
• Common Name: Lady Fern, Victorian Lady Fern
• Height: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: None; grown for its foliage
• Foliage: Light green, upright to arching fronds. The narrow leaflets cross in X shapes and end in small forked crests.
• Features: Deciduous

Where to Plant: Plant it where people can see the fronds up close: along a shady path, at the front of a woodland bed, or near a patio. It works well on the north side of a house, where many flowering perennials struggle.

Companion Plants: Use the crested, criss-crossed fronds of 'Victoriae' in a moist, shady bed with red and gold accents. Epimedium × rubrum opens crimson and cream flowers at 20 to 30 cm in April and May. Hosta 'Rainbow's End' adds glossy dark leaves with a gold centre at 25 to 30 cm. Astilbe 'Vision in Red' brings deep red to purple-red plumes at 40 to 50 cm in July and August. Carex grayi adds glossy blades at 60 to 90 cm with spiky, mace-like seed heads.

Plant Care: Plant in part shade to full shade, in moist, humus-rich soil that drains well. Neutral to slightly acidic soil is ideal. Add compost or leaf mould at planting time, and keep it watered through dry spells, especially in its first year. Lady ferns brown quickly if they dry out. Fronds die back with the frost. You can cut them down in late fall or leave them over winter to protect the crown, then remove them in early spring before new fronds unfurl. The clump slowly widens over time. Divide it in spring if it outgrows its spot.

History: The lady fern, Athyrium filix-femina, grows across much of the Northern Hemisphere, including the moist woods of Ontario and Quebec. Lady ferns were hugely popular in Victorian Britain, when hundreds of crested and oddly shaped forms were collected and named, and 'Victoriae' is one of the best-known survivors of that fern craze.

Final Thoughts: Plant it up close where people can see the details. Then watch them squint, lean in and ask what on earth that is. X MARKS THE SPOT.