syn. Cheilanthes fendleri, Hemionitis fendleri
A beautiful and remarkably resilient fern of the American Southwest, Myriopteris fendleri inhabits dry, rocky slopes, canyon walls, and ledges from Arizona and New Mexico into northern Mexico. Unlike most ferns, it thrives in arid, exposed habitats, curling tightly into a crisp ball during drought and then unfurling with renewed freshness after rain—a true “resurrection fern” of the desert mountains. This one has been with me since the Berry Garden days where it ran through sandy crevices in the rock garden. It’s a long lived, and tough fern that for me takes as much sun as you can give it.
It forms tidy clumps of finely divided, gray-green fronds, each lined beneath with silvery to rusty scales that lend a subtle shimmer in the sunlight. The foliage has a finely textured, lace-like quality that contrasts beautifully with rugged stone. Its ability to grow where little else survives makes it an excellent choice for crevice gardens, dry walls, and troughs, where its drought-hardiness and curious seasonal behavior can be fully appreciated.
In cultivation, M. fendleri requires sharply drained, sandy or gravelly soil in sun to part shade. Fully hardy to USDA zone 5 if kept dry in winter, it is nearly maintenance-free once established, relying on its natural adaptation of going dormant in drought and reviving at the return of moisture.
Still rare in gardens, Myriopteris fendleri offers rock gardeners a fascinating study in survival—an authentic fern of the desert that combines elegance, drought tolerance, and the magic of resurrection.
syn. Cheilanthes fendleri, Hemionitis fendleri
A beautiful and remarkably resilient fern of the American Southwest, Myriopteris fendleri inhabits dry, rocky slopes, canyon walls, and ledges from Arizona and New Mexico into northern Mexico. Unlike most ferns, it thrives in arid, exposed habitats, curling tightly into a crisp ball during drought and then unfurling with renewed freshness after rain—a true “resurrection fern” of the desert mountains. This one has been with me since the Berry Garden days where it ran through sandy crevices in the rock garden. It’s a long lived, and tough fern that for me takes as much sun as you can give it.
It forms tidy clumps of finely divided, gray-green fronds, each lined beneath with silvery to rusty scales that lend a subtle shimmer in the sunlight. The foliage has a finely textured, lace-like quality that contrasts beautifully with rugged stone. Its ability to grow where little else survives makes it an excellent choice for crevice gardens, dry walls, and troughs, where its drought-hardiness and curious seasonal behavior can be fully appreciated.
In cultivation, M. fendleri requires sharply drained, sandy or gravelly soil in sun to part shade. Fully hardy to USDA zone 5 if kept dry in winter, it is nearly maintenance-free once established, relying on its natural adaptation of going dormant in drought and reviving at the return of moisture.
Still rare in gardens, Myriopteris fendleri offers rock gardeners a fascinating study in survival—an authentic fern of the desert that combines elegance, drought tolerance, and the magic of resurrection.
