Similar in look to the popular tropical Boston Fern, but more upright and cold hardy to -10F, Cyrtomium fortunei is an evergreen perennial Japanese Holly Fern featuring a clump of long and lovely upward-reaching fronds. Its holly-like fronds have 12 to 26 pairs of oblong pinnae that emerge a satin-chartreuse to lime green and age to bright forest green. This fern adapts well to inland or salt-air coastal environments, and you can even grow it indoors as a house plant. In the garden, it prefers heavy shade to part shade. Direct afternoon sunlight will bleach foliage to a much lighter color. 

Growing 18 to 24 inches tall and nearly as wide, the Fortune's Japanese Holly Fern is ideal for use as an accent in smaller garden spaces or groupings where space allows, providing a lush, tropical effect. It is suitable for containers that can be kept outdoors year-round or indoors as a houseplant. Adds great texture to container plantings. A fine addition to woodland gardens, rock gardens, perennial shade gardens, tropical-look gardens, and Asian and Zen theme gardens.

Fortune's Japanese Holly Fern is very easy to grow in almost any moist but well-drained, humusy, acidic soil and part shade to full shade. Avoid the direct afternoon sun. Good soil drainage is essential to protect roots from rotting in winter. Tolerance for dry air qualifies this plant for use as a houseplant. It requires very little, if any, pruning, only to remove a damaged frond and during cleanup at the end of winter. We suggest a light feeding with a mild organic fertilizer after new growth emerges in spring.