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athyrium nipponicum ‘pictum’

April 30, 2009

I grabbed the remaining pots of a very colorful clone of Japanese painted fern years ago at a local nursery, afraid someone would catch on how special they were before I paid and take them from me. This was before all the named cultivars like ‘Burgundy Lace,’ which frankly aren’t even as nice. My plants, now much-divided into many more, are blackish-purple upon emerging, and even now, after three months of being above-ground, are looking pretty colorful. A treasure. Always hand-select your variegated ferns like this one, seeking the best individuals in the bunch. I know, they’re all supposed to be equal, but…

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