Plant Profile: Dicksonia antarctica - how to grow Australian tree ferns!

[@its.basically_steve]

Watching from Southern California, USA ❤

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for finding us!

[@uwedornenburg3994]

Hello and good evening to the Island, I’ve been growing of several kinds of Treeferns in my garden for not more than 2 years now only! 2 huge Dicksonia antarticas, Cyathea felina, Dicksonia saqarrosa, Cyathea cooperi….. I live in Central Germany with a quite mild, winegrowing climate. My 2 Antarctica’s are growing very well during their first year being in my garden. I got the cutted Stems in January this year and posted them after a Long time of soaking in A huge barrel of rainwater into quite big pots with my Special mixture for Treeferns. And After a few weeks the first fronds emerged, more and more developed. Now i have a treefern with many fronds about 1,80m in length.. each. Now ater 4 months a New Series of fronds are showing up. I gave them a good Feed every week and it Show now the results. Thank you sooo much for your lovely and funny Video i like very much. Keep well men! Kind regards Uwe

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@sharonthompson6293]

Thank you again for such an informative video.I have been waiting for this video for so long. This is my fav garden show. i love the in depth information on any given plant species. 👍

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thank you very much!

[@andrewcox9781]

Watching from Ballarat Victoria :)

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@pal98111]

Watching from Atlanta Georgia, USA. I’m in zone 7. I wish I could grow them here. But it does frost here. Excellent video.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

You may need to build a glass house! Regards Stephen

[@halleyorion]

I used to work in a nursery in Atlanta that sold Dicksonia antarctica (although just young ones that hadn’t grown trunks) and they were very popular sellers, despite their high price. It’s worth asking around in local gardening groups to find out how people are growing them in the Atlanta area.

[@maxinephillips6696]

Gr8show today guys it’s Maxine 82 yrs young from Wales in U K what a lucky day for me as I have three fern trees all with tags on by the way have had them for 5 yrs now in our new build garden wish I had the information that you gave out as I have planted them in a full sun spot but goes into shade at 3 30 ish each day one thing I have done correctly though is given them lots of watering most day and they look gr8 hubs and I love them love watching your videos they are brilliant as you are hugs to u 😊

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching Maxine!

[@heatherkuzan-fleury3004]

Great video with so much detail about the Dicksonia Antarctica. I live north west England and purchased mine today. I have been wanting to buy one for a couple of years now and finally got my wish today. I was wanting to keep it in a container so that I can move it into the garage winter time. I was wondering when should the plant need repotting? Thank you. Heather

[@thehorti-culturalists]

They can be kept in a container for years with feeding and watering as they really can't get root bound but the pot should be of a size to keep the fern balanced. I would repot if needed in late winter but even this isn't crucial. Regards Stephen

[@JH-sb6wj]

Stephen and Matthew, great video, very informative. Stephen I think I have an answer for you about the male and female tree fern, and where that has come from. I suspect it's come from here in the UK. We have a couple of native ferns here, one is Dryopteris Felix-mas (this may be an old botanical name!), it's common name is 'Male Fern'! It's one of our largest and most handsome ferns in Britain. The other fern I think folk who moved to Oz may have remembered from the UK and given as a common name to native (much larger Australian tree ferns) is 'Lady Fern' (botanical name - Athyrium Felix-femina, again possibly an old Latin name)! Again it's one of our larger ferns. I suspect that 'Lady' over the years (by word of mouth) this has been reffered to (remembered as?) 'Female' fern. That's my theory. Be interested in your thoughts.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

You could well be right but we will probably never know for sure. Regards Stephen

[@AC-pv2vz]

Question: Im from Newcastle Australian and I have been trying to replant native Red Cedar in an area of forest which was logged and has regrown with a monoculture of gum trees. The cedar trees should grow well in this patch of forest but they seem to be dying around a meter to two meters tall without fail. I have also found evidence that they did grow in my little gully from photos and mining records at the university of Newcastle library but were all clear cut and logged for timber pre 1900.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Has the ground been excavated or any other major change been made to limit the success of your cedar trees? Regards Stephen

[@kazoz3520]

Drought? On far north coast NSW, I lost Red Cedar and White Cedar 2m saplings during the last drought (2019). The Leptocneria caterpillars were the final straw for the White cedar. Also nearby 30 yr old self seeded Flooded gums died. When mature native species to an area start dying, well ...

[@josetrigueros2012]

So excited to find you. Here in Chicago, USA.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for finding us!

[@slimytoad1447]

Not sure bout cornwall but here in london we bave hoardes of parrakeets,pests. Great vid guys

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@AndriiKholod]

Watching from Lithuania ❤

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Welcome aboard. Regards Stephen

[@teresejohnson6767]

So much great information but I’m not worthy…because I bought a “tree fern” in a FL big box and still can’t tell the difference between the rough or smooth on the plant but do adore it in my jungle garden. Thank you for your amazingly interesting show🌿

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching us!

[@GardeningatDouentza]

Great information, as usual 😊

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks Rachel!

[@kennethmcdonald2987]

Great video and thanks .I have a question you may can answer. We live in south Alabama US and have a few of these my wife rescued from the trash pile at Lowe's of all places a couple of years back .She is a retired landscaper so is quite familiar with these plants .She repotted the poor things with native soil from our old hardwood forests, homemade compost and cow manure and placed them under some massive oaks down in our woods .It took a couple of years for them to recover but they are thriving in their pots now .My question is will they be a threat to our native forest in coming years ? She actually did not believe they would not make it but she has an amazing way with plants .Some of her most beautiful specimen trees have came out of the trash or have been relocated from other gardens who were being removed .These forests are strictly native plants where the tree ferns are located in their pots and the native wildlife loves them and uses them quite often especially frogs ,snakes and salamanders .She has not noticed any seedlings or spreading of them and would just dig them up and pot them if she did .She keeps an eye out for non native plants which are removed and destroyed immediately like privet and non native honeysuckle .They did get bitten back by a a recent severe hard freeze but came back okay.Though non native our local threatened wildlife are using them which is a consideration also .The trees here are mostly numerous native oaks ,hickories ,sweet gum ,and magnolias .They are presently underneath a couple of young bald cypress trees and a nearby small ornamental frog pond with a small waterfall and look great together .She believes if a close eye is kept on them and any seedlings potted up it should be okay for the native plants .What are your thoughts on this ? Other than removing non native plants this forest is left in it's natural state as much as possible being a wildlife habitat including leaving dead timber from lightning strikes .The reptiles and amphibians really like these tree ferns and are some of our most threatened wildlife here .They give good cover for the smaller snake species also from numerous raptors such as hawks and owls .We do have larger venomous snake species here in abundance so visitors are not an issue for obvious safety reasons .She does a lot of conservation work with Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes in the pine forests and Gopher Tortoise communities out here .Any advice as to what she should do about them out here would be greatly appreciated and thanks .We do have natural springs ,creeks and live next to a river so have lots of water here and I won't even mention our brutal heat and humidity down here in the Deep South .

[@thehorti-culturalists]

I feel fairly confident that in your climate there will be no issues with the tree ferns so rest assured. Regards Stephen

[@kennethmcdonald2987]

@@thehorti-culturalists Thanks so much for your input on this .

[@sylviahardy4568]

Such knowledge! Thank you 😊

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@gilbertdingle9915]

Enjoying your videos,we have tree ferns growing here in our garden in cornwall, the only concern here would be odd days in winter when the temperature sometimes drops to around 0c,this does not happen very often and when it does we cover them with horticultural fleece.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

sounds like you are doing all the right things and I hope you get to enjoy your ferns . Regards Stephen

[@Flowergarden6159]

Very informative. Great work guys.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@phillipkeep7037]

Great information, much better than Gardening Australia attempt, although my common name for Cooperii is Coin Spot tree fern and Cyathea cunninghamii is Slender tree fern .

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@mckatelynchristensen]

The climate and environmental looks similar to our redwood forests on west coast of US. I bet they could naturalize here.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

May be but they are extremely slow growing so would take a long time to march forward. Regards Stephen

[@inKed.buCaNeer.88]

Great video, watching from Brooklyn, NYC. I just discovered your channel and I'm loving it. My Dicksonia looks dead, all the fronds are wilted, dried and crisp. The main crozier's drying off but theres another growing and looks healthy. I already cut about 1/5 of the fronds but no signs of improvement. I see you cut all the fronds on one of yours and it looks amazing. Should I do the same? I'm afraid to end up killing it.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

if I do a radical cut back, which is sometimes necessary I usually leave long leaf stubs to help protect the unfurling fronds and once they mature whip off the stubs then. Taking all fronds off won’t kill the fern if it’s only done rarely. Regards Stephen

[@inKed.buCaNeer.88]

@@thehorti-culturalists Thank you so much for your quick response, appreciate your help. Cheers!

[@t9j6c6j51]

Fantastic video guys. We are moving to Kalorama in a few months and adore these tree ferns. Just to clarify, the soft variety can be cut off above the ground for transplanting, but the rough variety must be dug out completely?

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Yes that is correct. Regards Stephen

[@DaveSigurdsson]

Does the trunk resprout once the top is removed? Love your videos! I'm in Tallahassee FL

[@thehorti-culturalists]

No the stump won't regrow but could be a good container for an epiphyte. Regards Stephen

[@RussAnderson-b3z]

In my portland oregon greenhouse, I have a 6 footer with an 8 inch trunk, and it continually tries to die. I grew it from a 6 inch diameter potted plant and have managed to get it this large, but now it struggles with staying alive. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

hard to say what is going on but keep the trunk damp and make sure the potting mix hasn’t become hydrophobic. Regards Stephen

[@sunenielsen2686]

Hello, Sune from Denmark here. Thank you for a nice video - about a topic I have often given a thought - ie, I would like to grow a tree fern here at our place in Denmark. Now given we have no evergreen canopies here and given we can have quite long cold periods during winter, I guess the best solution would be to grow it in a pot? Then it could stand outside most of the time only to be brought in if it gets really cold. Is Dicksonia antarctica the most cold hardy tree fern available? I can see it is available in EU - not knowing where they come from. Here, I see tree ferns in our supermarket from time to time, but without its latin name, and it is probably not Dicksonia antarctica - my guess. I will keep in mind their origin, imagining they have a nursery origin in some cases - - and look for a sustainable one, once I decide to buy a specimen.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Yes Dicksonia is about the most cold tolerant species but you may be giving it a bit of a challenge in Denmark. Regards Stephen

[@jacqinthegarden]

Hey Matthew, whats the name of the facebook group you mentioned please? Look forward to your show every friday, thank you!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Its called Bayside Gardeners - and you have to live Bayside to be able to join. I imagine there's similar groups in other areas too. Thanks for watching!

[@cathymadsen2930]

I can't grow one of these so I planted a Brazillian tree fern!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Good compromise!

[@Aintreelady]

I live in North West england. I have a tree fern with a 4 foot trunk i have had for many years. I need to move its position to a more sheltered area in my back garden, as i didn't know what could be causing brown leaves until i watched your video. Can you please advise how iften i should water the crown in an english winter? Many thanks, G

[@thehorti-culturalists]

I would wet it on transplanting and if the weather is rainy don't bother. If its dry for more than a week you may need to step in. Regards Stephen

[@Aintreelady]

Thank you so much, hopefully I don't drown it 😮

[@uwedornenburg3994]

Hello you so lovely guys, well, I’m growing Treeferns of different types for a bit more than a year. Ahh…. I live in Germany near Frankfurt/ Main, very clos to our wine growing Riesling area, in other words quite a “ mild” region. Meanwhile I have 5 different species of treeferns. They all spent the summer outside under higher trees to avoid direct sunlight and they are growing very well with several new, huge fronds. They are alll now in my greenhouse. My questions is about watering. I hear so many different opinions. Watering the crown, the stem, both or……. From your experience, what is the best method to water them? My stomach says, only the stem from all sides thoroughly once a week?… Soon I am expecting raw trunks from Dicksonia antarctica from Tasmania of different sizes. Never tried to grow a raw trunk but I am really thrilled doing it. Well, I really would appreciate some valuable tipps from your side, what is right and what is wrong! Love from cool but not cold Germany Kind regards Uwe Ahhh last question, at what temperature are you keeping your Treeferns over winter? I keep them at only 5 degrees Celsius in my greenhouse. It’s much warmer on sunny days, but they all look fabulous by now. Look forward hearing from you soon! U.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Hi there Stephen is away for a week so he’ll answer you when he’s back!

[@lindsaybrown7357]

Doesn't look like your questions were answered. These treeferns grow naturally where I live and we have 4 seasons like you would. In Winter it can get down to zero C at night and the cooler days can sit below 10 deg C. Watering the trunk should be enough but no harm in watering the fronds.

[@pegeto123]

My 3 ft dicksonia antartcica which was flourishing until the very cold winter in January. Now most seems dead. A few fronds are partly green, no new emerging fronds. Is it possible to revive it at this late stage? Thanks. Peter T London UK

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Be patient and keep the trunk damp. If there is any green at all it isn't dead yet. Regards Stephen

[@LynneAmbler]

I have an Antartica tree fern that is about2 metres high. It has 2 smaller ferns growing at the bottom of the trunk. Can these be removed and replanted?

[@thehorti-culturalists]

They certainly could be cut out of the trunk with care and grown on although they may well be a different fern species as other ferns often germinate in the trunks. Regards Stephen

[@PaulConnor100]

Hi guys I have a Dicksonia Tree ferns in N.ireland I bought it hoping the fronds would be arching over nicely. The tree fern is in a open area and looks like a upside down shuttlecock any ideas ?🤔

[@thehorti-culturalists]

It sounds like it may either be in too much light or the trunk isn't being kept damp enough. Regards Stephen

[@PaulConnor100]

@thehorti-culturalists Thanks I will try watering it every day ,no where else to get more shade unfortunately 👍