Once collected as a major cut foliage item for Christmas sales, the Christmas fern may have derived its common name from the belief that the earliest settlers in North America gathered this fern for their own Christmas decorations.
Create an attractive centerpiece using the fern fronds as a base for a crystal bowl filled with pine cones, red berries, or colored ornaments. Fern fronds are excellent used as trimmings for sprigs of Winterberry or the spectacular glossy foliage of Holly. The fronds can easily be inserted in evergreen wreaths or garlands. Give your creations an individual touch and add some brilliant cuttings from your own garden.
Another fun and entertaining project for children, is using the tips of fern fronds to imitate a Christmas tree. Attach them to colorful paper with glue and add your own “ornaments” for cards or gift tags.
Christmas fern thrives in cool, deep shade but will tolerate some sun if given adequate moisture. Although Christmas fern is not a vigorous fern when grown in West Coast gardens, in most of North America it readily adapts to most garden soils. It can even be grown in poor, rocky or heavy, clay soils. It is one of the most drought tolerant ferns, with shallow roots that compete successfully with tree roots. Christmas fern is often used to combat soil erosion on dry slopes.
Unlike most ferns in the Polystichum genus, Christmas fern has numerous smaller crowns surrounding the central crowns which are easily divided as a method for effortless propagation, preferably in early spring. A beneficial trimming in early spring to remove the older fronds quickly solves the untidy appearance without any damage to the plant.
Excellent companions for Christmas Ferns in the shade garden include Astilbe, Brunnera, Heuchera, Heucherella, Hosta, Pulmonaria and Tiarella.