Bring delicate texture and timeless elegance to your shade garden with Asplenium trichomanes, commonly known as Maidenhair Spleenwort. This charming evergreen fern features graceful arching fronds lined with tiny, rounded deep green leaflets held on striking dark stems, creating beautiful contrast in woodland gardens, rock walls, and shaded landscapes.

Although refined in appearance, Maidenhair Spleenwort is remarkably hardy and easy to grow. Naturally found growing in rocky crevices and limestone outcrops, it thrives in moist, well-drained soil and slowly forms compact evergreen clumps that provide year-round interest. Its petite size makes it perfect for rock gardens, fairy gardens, shaded containers, living walls, and woodland borders.

Low-maintenance, deer resistant, and exceptionally long-lived, this unique native-style fern adds elegant texture wherever shade-loving plants are desired.

🌿 Key Features

🌿 Elegant evergreen fern

🍃 Graceful arching fronds with dark stems

🪨 Perfect for rock gardens and stone walls

🌳 Excellent woodland garden plant

🦌 Deer resistant

🌱 Low-maintenance perennial

🌧️ Thrives in cool, shaded locations

❄️ Cold hardy evergreen fern

🌱 Plant Details

Botanical Name: Asplenium trichomanes

Common Name: Maidenhair Spleenwort

Plant Type: Evergreen Perennial Fern

Foliage Color: Deep Green with Dark Brown to Black Stems

Flower Color: None (grown for ornamental foliage)

Mature Height: 6–12 Inches

Spread: 6–12 Inches

Growth Habit: Compact, Clump-Forming

Light Requirements: Partial Shade to Full Shade

Water Needs: Moderate

Soil: Moist, Well-Drained Soil Rich in Organic Matter

Hardiness Zones: USDA 4–9

Characteristics: Evergreen, Deer Resistant, Low Maintenance, Rock Garden Plant, Woodland Fern, Drought Tolerant Once Established

🌼 Garden Uses

Perfect for:

• Rock gardens
• Woodland gardens
• Shade gardens
• Stone walls
• Crevice gardens
• Fairy gardens
• Fern collections
• Container gardens
• Living walls
• Woodland borders
• Naturalized plantings
• Moss gardens

Its fine texture and compact growth make it an excellent accent for shaded spaces of all sizes.

🌸 Companion Plants

Pair Maidenhair Spleenwort with:

• Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides)
• Foamflower (Tiarella)
• Coral Bells (Heuchera)
• Cyclamen hederifolium
• Carex (Sedge)
• Hosta
• Brunnera
• Epimedium
• Wild Ginger (Asarum)
• Japanese Forest Grass

🌱 Care Instructions

Plant in partial to full shade for best foliage quality.

Grow in moist, well-drained soil enriched with compost or organic matter.

Water regularly during establishment, then maintain moderate moisture.

Avoid prolonged soggy soil or standing water.

Remove old or damaged fronds in late winter or early spring.

Protect from hot afternoon sun in warmer climates.