Blechnum penna-marina var alpina 'Firecracker'

Alpine Water Fern Blechnaceae

Blechnum penna-marina ‘Firecracker’ is a delightful miniature fern with considerably more personality than its diminutive stature suggests. The species is widespread across the cooler Southern Hemisphere, occurring in southern South America, Australia, New Zealand and numerous subantarctic islands. It forms a slowly spreading mat of leathery, pinnate fronds, with the fresh growth developing particularly attractive coppery to wine-red tones before maturing green.

‘Firecracker’ was selected by Dutch fern breeder Wouter van Driel, who describes it as one of his own fern selections. Its combination of compact habit and intensely coloured new growth makes it particularly effective as a woodland groundcover, beneath rhododendrons or in a shaded rock garden. Give it moist, humus-rich, well-drained soil in partial shade; it will tolerate more sun where moisture is reliable. The species is remarkably tough, with the RHS rating it H4. A small fern, certainly—but one that clearly believes subtlety is overrated.

Altitude: Sea level–alpine
Hardiness: H4, approximately −10 to −5°C
Height: 10–20cm
Spread: 50–100cm