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Key characteristics

Family: Blechnaceae
Height: 3 to 5 feet
Width: 3 to 5 feet
Flower color: Non-flowering fern
Foliage color: Evergreen; new fronds emerge orange-bronze, maturing to dark green
Bloom time: Not applicable
Light: Partial shade to full shade
Water: Regular
Maintenance: Low; in colder climates, leaving fronds as mulch in winter can be beneficial
Growing zone: USDA zones 7a to 10b
Wildlife: Not applicable

Perennials

Blechnum chilense

Chinese Hard Fern

Blechnum chilense, commonly known as the Chilean hard fern, is a bold evergreen fern with large, leathery fronds that create a lush, tropical appearance. The fronds emerge as a bright coppery-red before maturing to deep green, adding seasonal interest and contrast. Unlike flowering plants, this fern reproduces via spores found on the undersides of its fronds rather than producing blooms.

Native to Chile and parts of western South America, Blechnum chilense thrives in temperate woodland environments where it forms dense clumps over time.

Light

Partial shade to full shade

Water

Regular

Bloom time

Not applicable

Find this plant

Works well in

Borders
Shade Gardens
Woodland Gardens
Rain Gardens
Cut Flower Gardens

Companion plants

Wild ginger · Hellebores · Japanese forest grass · Astilbes · Heucheras · Siberian bugloss

Design tip

Foliage and form do most of the work here, so lean on texture and repetition rather than one flowering moment. Cooler light suits it, so tuck it on the north side of a shrub or wall where the soil stays even.