Japanese Painted Fern Red Beauty Also known as the painted lady fern, Athyrium niponicum var. pictum Red Beauty is an exceptionally beautiful, US-bred fern for shadier areas. It’s a rosette-forming, deciduous fern with graceful, deeply divided, grey-green fronds, 14”/35cm long, with wine-red mid-ribs and stems, less strongly coloured in summer. Japanese painted fern Red Beauty will spread by short rhizomes where conditions suit it, but is not overly invasive. Trouble-free and easy to grow in humus-rich soil, it’s particularly good with smaller, plum-coloured hellebores. Site: ShelteredSoil: Moist, well-drained, humus-rich, acid to neutral soilPosition: Full shade or partial shadeSeason of interest: Spring to autumnHardiness: Fully hardyHeight: 1’ (30cm) Spread:1’ (30cm)