Christmas fern is native to north east America and hardy from USDA zones 3 to 8. It will, when established, put up with the incredibly dry soil in my USDA zone 7 woods, although, like all ferns, it prefers a nice, organic, moist soil in light to part shade. It will grow in pretty deep shade and take a fair amount of sun. It is moderate in rate of growth. From self-sown spore to a decent clump takes about four years.
Fronds spring from a central, slowly expanding crown.
Propagation is by spring division or spore. I have dug and moved this fern in summer and fall. Summer is not ideal, because of the hot, dry conditions that generally prevail here then, but if you get a good rootball and make sure to keep the plant watered, they will do just fine. Spring is best to dig and move, preferably before the croziers start to unfurl as they and the fronds are brittle and break easily. While they flourish under ideal conditions, the will grow in much less and survive in adversity.