East Indian Holly Fern

An unusual and beautiful fern for milder areas, Arachnoides aristata Variegata will light up a partially shady bed or border. It’s an evergreen, clump-forming fern with robust, deep blue-green, heavily divided fronds with a cream to lime-green stripe along the mid-rib and rather finger-like leaflets. Although reasonably hardy in milder areas, it can suffer damage in harsh winters; mulch heavily in winter to protect the roots against frost. Protect the emerging fronds against slugs, although they ignore the mature fronds. East Indian Holly Fern also makes an excellent house-plant.

Site: Sheltered
Soil: Any reasonably fertile, moist but well-drained, neutral to acidic soil
Position: Partial shade
Season of interest: All year
Hardiness: Not reliably hardy
Height: 20” (50cm) Spread: 16” (40cm)