All I can tell you is that my "seedling" (sporeling?) Japanese Painted Ferns are just as beautiful as the parent plant. Several have shown up in my yard and all were very similar to the parent.

Sandy

There zre doznes of variation on the painted fern. If by division they generally will be close, but sports can arise and if grown from spores there can be much larger differences in color as well as size.

thanks. So...it seems I can expect no change in plants that I purchase and therefore buy the most colorfull ones I can find.

I've read that they develop their colour in the second year, though i've yet to grow them myself.

The amount of light they have been grown in can affect their color. Too much light, even if it's not enough to burn the leaves, can make them very washed out.