Asplenium trichomanes

Common Names

Maidenhair Spleenwort, Common Spleenwort, English Maidenhair, Green Spleenwort, Waterwort

Summary

Maidenhair spleenwort is an evergreen small fern forming delicate fronds from a short creeping rhizome, with dark brown rachises and small rounded pinnae along the fronds. It commonly grows on walls and crevices of rocky substrates in shade, presenting a tidy rosette of slender, green fronds that stay lush year-round. It is best grown in moist, humus-rich, well-drained soils in partial to full shade, tolerating chalk, clay, loam, or sand and alkaline to neutral pH. Propagation occurs by division or by sowing spores, and plants are suitable for containers, rock gardens, rock walls, crevices, and shaded gardens; it is hardy in USDA zones 3a–9b and has earned the RHS Award of Garden Merit, while maintenance is generally low and pests or diseases are not major concerns.

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

4-8 inches

Spread

6-12 inches

Hardiness Zones

Zones 5-8

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally partial shade; can grow in full shade.

Soil Type

Rocky substrate; lithophytic and does not require soil

Soil Drainage

Moist but well-drained soil.

Soil pH

No single ideal pH; tolerates a broad range from acidic to alkaline, with a neutral range 6.0-8.0

Bloom Color

Insignificant

Bloom Time

Doesn't bloom

Foliage Color

Green

Fall Foliage Color

Green

Leaf Lifecycle

Other

Growth Rate

Slow

Seasons of Interest

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter

Propagation Methods

Division, Spores

Attracts Wildlife

No evidence of attraction to bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, other pollinators, or birds