Both my Tree Ferns (Dicksonia antarctica) have survived the cold winter (so far!). In fact, they have faired better than last year. Last year the small Tree Fern was badly hit by the cold winter but the tall one suffered no ill effects. This time last year I thought I may have lost the small Tree Fern – coiled fronds, like claws that would have been the new growth had died. These dead coils then seemed to block any new growth coming through, I’m pleased to say that the new growth did get past the dead coils but it resulted in a bit of an uneven spread of fronds.
Last winter, I put old dead fronds around the top of the large Tree Fern and stuffed some fleece into the top of the smaller one. This has done the trick and both are now beginning to send up new growth (see photos below). However, it is still very cold and I hope we don’t get a severe frost now!
Some of last year’s fronds have turned black due to frost but I will leave them on the plant for a while longer yet because I have a theory that their weight helps bend their old stems downwards and out of the way from the new growth. This is only a theory!
Anyway . . . Below are a couple of photos of the new fronds emerging this year
Above: New fronds of Dicksonia antarctica
Click on the ‘Dicksonia’ or ‘Tree Fern’ labels for earlier posts.
Wow!! Are you still getting frosty nights where you are? It's almost May you know!!LOL
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteI'm in Faversham, England. The temperature was down to 3 degrees last night, enough for a ground frost. I think / hope we will not have sub-zero temperatures but we are in a northerly air flow right now with high pressure so it is possible. Roll on summer! Thanks for your comment
Rob
Can anyone help me please? I have a 5 ft Dicksonia antarctica and I think its poorly. The ferns / fronds are very small and it looks stunted. Its planted in ericaceous soil in a large tub, and although it got a lot of sun last year it never did well. Is shading that important? Is it a nutritional issue? I feed it with seaweed extract now and again. Is it possible that the sun has just done its damage?
ReplyDeleteOn the plus side, it has sent up 6 new fronds but they are only a foot long. The winter did its best to kill it off but, like Flash Gordon, he's alive.
Please advise. Many thanks,
Jack.
Nr Guildford. Surrey.
Hello Jack
ReplyDeleteI’m certainly not an expert on Tree Ferns (or anything else really!). I have no experience of growing Tree Ferns in pots but with the help of Martin Rickard’s excellent book: ‘Garden Ferns’, I think your main problem may be that the plant is getting too much sunlight. Martin Rickard says that a Tree Fern in full sunlight will have much shorter fronds. Of course, a tree fern needs its trunk to be kept moist throughout the growing season and this could mean watering the trunk every day and possibly more in hot weather when growing in sunlight. Martin Rickard also advocates the use of a general-purpose fertilizer but I would not think that a seaweed extract fertilizer would do any damage. I use a basic general-purpose liquid fertilizer and the tap water here is very alkaline.
I hope I’ve been of some help. The largest of my tree ferns is now growing in full sunlight since my neighbour felled the tree that used to give it shade. As the tree has only recently been felled, I wait to see what effect it will have on the tree fern, I do know that I will have to water it even more!
Thanks for your post and long live Flash Gordon!
Rob