Topic: tree fern

[ACE]

I came across a dead looking tree fern today, there were 5 more all with fronds on.  When I dug it out of the very dry ground the roots looked quite healthy so I have potted it and put it under cover.

I have never had anything to do with these plants before, apart from planting them for clients. Do they lie dormant? Do you have to do anything to start them off? is there a way of checking if it is still viable?

[Georgie]

I have no idea but if you get no joy here then I bet the peeps on UKOasis will know.  The link is http://ukoasis.co.uk

G x

[Roy Bham UK]

;D You jammy dodger Ace ;D these little darlings are worth about £12 per foot so I would deffo try to raise them from the dead if only to sell on, I would find room for them as I love them. ;D

If they are of the hardier variety like "Dicksonia antarctica" Tasmanian tree fern, you could well pull them back to life, although this time of year with frosts prevailing you could also kill them off :'(

My plan would be if you have a warm greenhouse that keeps temps above freezing, water the trunks (not the crown) or better still spray them copiously every week or maybe 2 weeks :-\ reason being the trunk is really the root system, the roots you have seen are just a continuation of the trunk, confusing init?

If no warm greenhouse, bring them indoors for the winter and keep them well damp but not the crown, it would have been a lot easier for you to save them if it were summer as you could have sunk them in a bath of water and left them there to soak up the water they rely so much on, good luck.

I would love to see the B4 and after piccies ;)

[teresa]

I thought I read somewhere if you put straw into the crown and pull the frons around and tie. Wrap the whole plant in fleese it would survive the winter. The idea was no snow or ice to get to the crown and frost to the trunk. Or am I thinking of another plant?

[growgirl]

; these little darlings are worth about £12 per foot

Where please? From what I've seen the cost is more like £25/ft.

[Roy Bham UK]

Spot on teresa, but it sounds like Ace has come across some  poor specimens that need extra TLC having said, quote "dead looking" so by leaving them to the elements could just finish them off :'(

[Roy Bham UK]

; these little darlings are worth about £12 per foot

Where please? From what I've seen the cost is more like £25/ft.

;D Last year B&Q were selling 4ft trunks for £50 and in the end of season sale they were £25 :o ;D

[teresa]

agree Roy, best to repot and tlc.
Its just I put my 2ft one in greenhouse untill I can wrap up left it out last year frons got burnt frost but a couple of months in greenhouse came back fighting. Got mine half price hee hee

[ACE]

As I always smugly say 'we are relatively frost free down here' so the rest of the ferns in the ladies garden are still in fine condition. One of them is a double but the top fronds look dead. They must have been there for about 5 years with no care given to them at all. The one I dug up was destined for the bonfire, but I thought I would try and revive it.

The roots that were in the ground are still white if you break a bit off, so I thought there might still be a bit of life in it, although it has not had any fronds on this summer. The ground was bone dry as it was planted under a large oak, so the plant might not have had the water it needs to perform.

I have put it in a damp John Innes no.2 mixture in a 50lt pot  and taken it into the poly, but it will not be heated in there,  it is the only place I have got that is big enough to keep it, as it is about 3m tall. I shall give it until next may before it ends up on the fire. I do not like them as single plants, I would rather see a clump of them, so I don't really have a use for it in my garden. But it seemed a shame to dump it.

I have planted them for clients before and always give them instructions for the aftercare, telling them to wrap the tops up in the winter months. £12 -£25 a foot seems a bit steep I usually pay about £30 for a 1.5m plant, but that is trade price, then I would add 15% to the customer to cover my handling costs.

[norfolklass]

I bought a babby one two years ago, its stem must be all of about 4" but I've been amazed at how tough it is. I didn't get around to wrapping it up to protect it during the winter, we'd not long moved house and all the pots just got lumped together under the hedges, so it was in a fairly sheltered position. This spring I thought I'd killed it, all the fronds were brown and when I poked about a little bit in the crown the tiny curled up fronds-to-be were brown and dead and snapped off. But I kept watering it and eventually it came back to life. It's had five new fronds this year and I guess it may have had more but it got off to a bit of a late start. I might treat it to a bit of protection this year!

[growgirl]

Oh please don't throw it away  :o. I'll take him off your hands  ;)  ;D

[Roy Bham UK]

If you can buy them at £30 for a 1.5m plant I'd dump the dying one or give it to growgirl, ;D  it's only the price of a couple of bunches of flowers up here.

Although when you consider tree ferns have been on our planet  long before the Dinosaurs and that they only grow 1" per year, surely they deserve a second chance of life. ??? ::) cuz I don't think it is dead :(

[Roy Bham UK]

Oh please don't throw it away  :o. I'll take him off your hands  ;)  ;D

growgirl, how do you know it's a him  ??? ;D

[cambourne7]

I am also happy to house one :-) and pay postage  ;D

The thing with tree ferns as i understand them is that they take moisture in from the top  the roots at the bottom are only to hold them in place.

Although i dont have one ( cant afford it ) i have looked into it and found this site great !

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0305/treeferns.asp

cambourne7

[growgirl]

Well....

it's hairy, plays dead and doesn't want to grow up

= male  ;D ;D ;D

Why else?