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Species library › Adiantum › Adiantum pedatum
Ferns Well documented

Adiantum pedatum

Northern maidenhair fern

A deciduous maidenhair fern of rich, moist hardwood forests in eastern North America and East Asia, with fan-shaped fronds held on wiry black stalks. It is the most cold-hardy maidenhair and needs a cold winter dormancy. It is best grown outdoors in shade rather than as a houseplant.

Adiantum pedatum
Photo: Doug McGrady from Warwick, RI, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Ordinary room humidityBand in Plantistry
Light ShadeDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

Rich, moist deciduous forests, talus and rocky slopes, and bases of mountains, in humus-rich, well-drained soil. It grows from creeping rhizomes and dies back in winter. It spreads by wind-borne spores and forms colonies in shaded woodland.

Mostly lowland to mid-mountain forest. Few records carry an elevation; the measured sites range from about 220 to 710 m.

Eastern North AmericaHimalayaChinaKoreaRussian Far East

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY 2.0 licence, unmodified.