Botanic Garden >> Gardening > >> Houseplants >> Plants for Details >> Ferns

Japanese Painted Fern 'Applecourt' (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum 'Applecourt')

Japanese Painted Fern Applecourt
Applecourt frond detail
Applecourt clump

Overview

'Applecourt' is a stunning cultivar of the Japanese Painted Fern, prized for its metallic silver fronds with deep burgundy midribs. This deciduous fern adds dramatic color to shade gardens.

Taxonomy

Family:	Dryopteridaceae
Genus:	Athyrium (uh-THEE-ree-um)
Species:	niponicum var. pictum
Cultivar:	Applecourt

Description

Fronds are triangular, bipinnate, 30–45 cm long, with a silvery-gray overlay and contrasting dark red-purple stems and midribs. The color intensifies in spring and early summer.

Habitat and Cultivation

Prefers moist, humus-rich soil in partial to full shade. Hardy in USDA zones 4–9. Mulch to retain moisture and protect crowns in winter. Divide clumps every few years in spring.

Ferns: Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum): Shade Garden Elegance; 'Burgundy Lace' Japanese Painted Fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum): Deeply Colored Cultivar; Thelypteris decursive-pinnata: Japanese Beech Fern; Athyrium 'Ghost': Ghost Fern; Japanese Painted Fern 'Applecourt' (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum 'Applecourt'); Japanese Painted Fern 'Ursula's Red' (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum 'Ursula's Red'); Japanese Painted Fern 'Silver Falls' (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum 'Silver Falls'); Japanese Painted Fern 'Pewter Lace' (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum 'Pewter Lace'); Japanese Brake Fern (Pteris nipponica): Elegant Variegated Fern for Shade; Japanese Painted Fern – Award-Winning Shade Beauty

Garden Articles

Walking Fern (Asplenium rhizophyllum): Unique Fern That "Walks" Across Rocks

Log Fern (Dryopteris celsa): Tall, Hybrid Wood Fern for Moist Shade

Woodwardia unigemmata: Chain Fern

Pyrrosia hastata: Felt Fern

Adder's-tongue Fern (Ophioglossum vulgatum)

Basket Fern (Drynaria rigidula)

Licorice Fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza)

Plants

Japanese Holly Fern (Cyrtomium) Care: Tough, Glossy, Non-Shedding

Japanese Painted Fern: 2004 Perennial Plant of the Year

Staghorn Fern (Platycerium wallichii)

Fragile Fern (Cystopteris protrusa)

Swamp Fern (Blechnum serrulatum)

Cheilanthes sieberi: Mulga Fern

Crown Fern (Blechnum discolor): Distinctive New Zealand Fern