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Tree ferns are not just for Christmas | posted: 16/3/2008 at 15:14:39
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Apart for some rather special gardens in very mild areas of the UK that have enjoyed growing Tree Ferns for decades, in recent years the fashion for Tree Ferns has meant some gardens that should know better have planted them by the score (rescued plants from illegal imports, I believe) in the most ridiculous sites. Almost as though they were for Christmas, to be forgotten by the second week of the New Year!
When we moved to Devon we brought with us a sickly, very small Dicksonia antarctica. This was planted out when we constructed our Architectural Steps in a shady, humid area protected naturally from all but the harshest of frosts (that we rarely see in Devon). Over the last few years it’s established itself well and is now growing almost a foot of new trunk a year, with fronds that are becoming quite large and encroaching on the steps!
So when we recently visited the south of Cornwall we purchased a number of new plants, including four new Tree Ferns. Three were recommended by our friend Peter in Australia who grew the Dicksonia antarctica from spores when he lived in the UK, and a less common species the guy at the nursery thought should do well too. If you’re interested in some help with Tree Ferns then try Trevena Cross Nurseries near Helston, they’ve a good selection and helpful, knowledgeable staff too (www.trevenacross.co.uk)!
We now have a Cyathea smithii, D. squarosa and D. fibrosa, plus a Cyathea cooperii. The guy at Trevena said the latter was not as hardy as the rest, but we should manage it in a very sheltered spot, or with some winter protection in a more exposed area. We're planning to put it in at the rear of the house, low down in the Stumpery. It's really well protected and very humid.
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