A LITTLE MORE LIFE
Licorice fern
Polypodium glycyrrhiza
Native fronds green up a shaded garden during the cooler, wetter part of the year.
MAKE IT FEEL AT HOME
A spot to thrive.
Needs porous, organic soil; summer dieback can be normal, but new plantings need reliable moisture.
- Sunlight
- Shade
- Soil moisture
- Average moisture / Dry soil
- Mature size
- 4–16 in tall · 16–20 in wide
- Season of interest
- Cool-season fronds
- Local climate
- Choose nursery stock suited to local winters.
- Garden role
- Low fern texture for shade
ONE GOOD SWAP
Instead of japanese painted fern.
Athyrium niponicum
Try licorice fern for low fern texture for shade.
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Photo credits & licenses
Licorice fern: brewbooks from near Seattle, USA · CC BY-SA 2.0
Japanese painted fern: ProteinBiochemist · CC BY 2.0
Resized, converted to WebP, and cropped in the layout. Each photo retains its listed license. All photo credits