Ferns – Full Sun

Q: I am looking for ferns that are full sun tolerant and deer resistant.

A: Deer don’t much care for ferns in general. I find Southern shield fern, Thelypteris kunthii, easy to grow in full sun if I water when it’s really dry. Autumn fern, Dryopteris erythrosora, holly fern, Cyrtomium falcatum, and Christmas fern, Polystichum acrostichoides, are evergreen and drought tolerant but they need a little shelter from hot afternoon sun.

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