Adiantum pedatum

Adiantum pedatum, the Canadian maidenhair fern, is a little-known fern, yet perfectly hardy and of undeniable elegance. Its young fronds are tinged with orange-pink before turning a bright, light green. Composed and palmate, finely cut along black and smooth stems, they give a very graphic and graceful appearance to the plant. A beautiful deciduous or semi-evergreen fern to be planted in shaded areas of the garden.

This species, belonging to the fern family Pteridaceae, sometimes called Venus hair fern, is the hardiest of capillary ferns. The Pedate Maidenhair is native to cool regions of North America, the Far East, and temperate Himalayan regions. It is a perennial fern with running rhizomes in clusters, forming a beautiful clump with an upright and spreading habit, reaching 60cm (24in) in height and 40cm (16in) in spread. Its growth is quite slow, especially in the first two years. Its characteristic fronds are cut into cuneate leaflets (which widen from the base to the top), aligned in regular rows along petioles that radiate along the main stem, which is black and shiny. Its red croziers unfurl in spring, blooming into young fronds tinted with light orange-pink, which then turn a very bright spring green and later a bluish shade when ripe. The foliage is semi-evergreen to deciduous, depending on the climate. When happy, this fern forms beautiful colonies over time.

Capillary ferns are very elegant ferns, of great ornamental value. Adiantum pedatum thrives only in cool climates and shaded conditions. It can be planted in a border, in a woodland, alongside Epimedium and azaleas, for example, but also in a shaded rockery with primroses, hostas, heucheras, forget-me-nots, and many others.