Try again with christmas fern. You have to kill something at least three times before you can give up. Any clue as to why it died? Newly planted ferns should have a good soaking once a week until established. then they can survuve a drought. There are a couple native wood ferns - Dryopteris that are evergreen and more non-natives that would be hardy for you. You do realize that although they stay green over the winter the fronds do not stay erect.

I bought the ferns through the mail, and although they were green when I got them, they just turned brown after about 10 days. I did not realize the fronds would not stay up during the winter, thanks for that. Once I can get something to stay alive, that information will be very helpful. The 3 times rule is great too. I have killed nearly everything I have planted, and was about to give up.

Hi,

I have a few Autumn ferns (not sure of the actual species name) that I love . They stay green all winter, can take a little drier than some ferns & the new growth is a rich copper color. Check into them!

Jen

The Autumn fern is Dryopteris erythrosora. It's a superb plant - pinky-copper new growth, and one of the few ferns to actually stay looking good all winter.