Adiantum aleuticum Imbricatum

Adiantum aleuticum 'Imbricatum' is a variety similar to the Canadian capillary (Adiantum pedatum) but it is more compact, exceptionally hardy and easier to grow. Its light green fronds take on a bluish hue over time. Composed and palmate, finely cut and imbricated along black or purplish and shiny rachises, they give a very graphic and dense appearance to the plant. A beautiful deciduous or semi-evergreen fern that retains its foliage for a long time in winter, easy to install in cool to moist soil, in semi-shaded areas of the garden or in fresh rockeries.

The species Adiantum aleuticum, from the Adianthaceae (or Pteridaceae) family, is the hardiest of the capillaries. It is native to the western half of North America and Southeast Asia. It is a perennial fern with running rhizomes in clusters, forming a beautiful very compact tuft, 30cm (12in) tall and 40cm (16in) wide. Its growth is quite slow, especially in the first two years. Its characteristic fronds are cut into cuneate leaflets (which widen from the base to the top), with imbricated pinnae overlapping each other, somewhat like tiles and forming a beautiful light green dome that contrasts with the black and shiny rachis. Rachis is a specific term for ferns that actually refers to the vein of the frond or the stem that connects the leaflets together. Its red croziers unfold in spring, blooming into young, very bright green fronds that become bluish when mature. These fronds remain green for quite a while in winter before disappearing. When it is happy, this fern gradually forms beautiful colonies over time.

The capillaries are very elegant ferns, of great ornamental value. Adiantum aleuticum 'Imbricatum' thrives in cool to moist soil and in shaded afternoon situations. It can be planted in a woodland bed, in the company of Epimedium and azaleas, for example, but also in a shaded rockery alongside primroses, hostas, Heucheras, forget-me-nots, and many more. It is a plant that will also find its place in a Japanese garden, mineral or 'zen' inspired, in the company of dwarf bamboos.