Polystichum setiferum

Native to the UK and parts of Europe, Polystichum setiferum, the Soft Shield Fern is one of the loveliest of all the small ferns. Its luxuriant green and finely-cut bipinnate fronds are extremely soft-textured and pleasing to the touch. It is this combination of lush greeness, its elegant and finely-toothed serrations and its pleasingly tactile nature that make the Soft Shield Fern such a winningly desirable and very beautiful plant. It somehow manages to achieve the seemingly impossible paradox of being graceful and showy yet in a subtle and charmingly understated way.

Semi-evergreen, the fronds persist into January and sometimes February before the new fronds emerge in April. lt thrives in shady moist conditions in a free-draining, organically-rich, neutral or acid soil.