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Tree Ferns


Walter John

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I picked up 2 x Cyathea tomentosissima today, I was curious if anyone else has these. They are from PNG highlands and supposedly can grow in all manner of climate, and take full sun. A common name for this tree fern is ‘Highland Lace tree fern’.

I already have 1 x Cyathea cooperi 'Lacy Tree Fern' which is powering. Tree ferns really add that immediate rainforest touch in my humble opinion. pics to follow.

So who's growing tree ferns ? :)

Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

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Forgot the pics.

Here's my cooperi, loves this weather, this is real rainforest stuff of late.

post-51-099937600 1331962368_thumb.jpg

post-51-039954100 1331962389_thumb.jpg

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Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

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The tomentosissimas I planted straight away.

Highland Lacy 1

post-51-059713000 1331962568_thumb.jpg

post-51-074697100 1331962589_thumb.jpg

Highland Lacy 2

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post-51-017120800 1331962659_thumb.jpg

Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

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I am Wal

Cyathea tomentosissima is a great little tree fern and has taken 40 c 102 F down here in full sun .

Here is mine :D

IMG_2316.jpg

IMG_2315.jpg

Other Species include -

Cyathea cooperii

This has been very fast grower for me .

IMG_2309.jpg

Dicksonia antarctica (Tasmanian native )

IMG_2311.jpg

Old Beach ,Hobart
Tasmania ,Australia. 42 " south
Cool Maritime climate

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Cyathea australis

another Tasmanian native

IMG_2313.jpg

Cyathea brownii from Norfolk Island one of the biggest tree ferns when mature .

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Cyathea medullaris from New Zealand and high altitude peaks on Fiji . This fern is one of my favorite it has jet black petioles and is EXTREMELY FAST growing this fern was a mere 15 cm tall in a small pot 18 months ago .

Unfortunately it got sunburnt on the 40 c day .

IMG_2312.jpg

Old Beach ,Hobart
Tasmania ,Australia. 42 " south
Cool Maritime climate

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I would like to get more of these eventually.

Zone 10a at best after 2007 AND 2013, on SW facing hill, 1 1/2 miles from coast in Oceanside, CA. 30-98 degrees, and 45-80deg. about 95% of the time.

"The great workman of nature is time."   ,  "Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience."

-George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon-

I do some experiments and learning in my garden with palms so you don't have to experience the pain! Look at my old threads to find various observations and tips!

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Those are some beautiful tree ferns. :drool:

I only have one, but it's a nice one I think. Leaves are 10' wide. Three more weeks and I will have my first spring flush of the year. :D Dicksonia antarctica.

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The trunk.

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This one I p/u last year and is a cross of two native ferns here in PNW.

One is non-trunking crossed with a prostate native trunking one.

Sorry can't find the tag.

DSC00006-5.jpg

Edited by Palm crazy
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Wal,

I can't really say that "I'm growing tree ferns" in the sense that I can't take the credit. They are just naturally occurring here. Some properties have very few while other properties have lots of them. I am fortunate in that my new garden has quite a few of them and I intend to leave all the healthy ones, and use them in my landscaping plans. The Hawaiian name is "hapu'u" and the botanical name Cibotium splendens. There are a few other species on the Big Island, but this is the most common one. First photo shows the view from my lanai, and there are quite a few on the opposing slope. The last photo has Kim for scale. Many hapu'us are considerably larger than this.

Bo-Göran

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Leilani Estates, 25 mls/40 km south of Hilo, Big Island of Hawai'i. Elevation 880 ft/270 m. Average rainfall 140 inches/3550 mm

 

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Thanks for the additions Troy, Roger and Bo, I never knew about Cibotiums. Bill, sooner the better.

One would think South America would have a lot of native tree ferns, and doesn't New Caledonia have some native tree ferns as well ? Perhaps New Cal palm collectors might consider hunting these down.

Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

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There are some fantastic New Cal tree ferns, although they tend to be a bit hard to track down. The best tree fern I ever grew was an unnamed species from Costa Rica that I got from a collector in Northern California. My climate isn't really a match, so I took all of them out as it was tough to keep them looking good all the time with my hot and dry climate. Not impossible, but just too much work for me. That species from Costa Rica was a real winner; bigger and faster growing than even the 'brentwood' variety of cooperii.

San Fernando Valley, California

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There are some fantastic New Cal tree ferns, although they tend to be a bit hard to track down. The best tree fern I ever grew was an unnamed species from Costa Rica that I got from a collector in Northern California. My climate isn't really a match, so I took all of them out as it was tough to keep them looking good all the time with my hot and dry climate. Not impossible, but just too much work for me. That species from Costa Rica was a real winner; bigger and faster growing than even the 'brentwood' variety of cooperii.

Sounds perfect for Oceanside... where did you put them when you took them out? :huh:

Zone 10a at best after 2007 AND 2013, on SW facing hill, 1 1/2 miles from coast in Oceanside, CA. 30-98 degrees, and 45-80deg. about 95% of the time.

"The great workman of nature is time."   ,  "Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience."

-George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon-

I do some experiments and learning in my garden with palms so you don't have to experience the pain! Look at my old threads to find various observations and tips!

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I have a few in my shadehouse..... Yep... I don't water enough for them to live outside at the moment, as I have to water them a lot to survive the dry season here. But, I am sure once the canopy is up, I should be able to grow them outside. Not sure what they are.... just some volunteer from pots of stuff....

Regards, Ari :)

Ari & Scott

Darwin, NT, Australia

-12°32'53" 131°10'20"

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Some great photos of nice looking stuff.

I received a couple of seeding 'New Caledonian' tree ferns a few years ago and they have done well.

I'm assuming they are Cyathea novae caledoniae, but not certain. The mother plant had buttress roots.

There were also a few large old Cimbotium splendens or Hapuu tree ferns on the property, and they create such a nice

canopy for the smaller plants.

post-0-067183400 1332038292_thumb.jpg post-0-099472000 1332038305_thumb.jpg

New Cal. with a close up of the trunk. A real nice shade of violet.

post-1300-062614700 1332038389_thumb.jpg post-1300-090720700 1332038411_thumb.jpg

Here are the Hapuu with a small New Cal. in front.

Tim

Hilo, Hawaii

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Those are great Tim.

Wal, I think NewCal has some of the nicest tree ferns around. Rare palm seeds always comes up with some great spores for sale but I have no idea how to grow from spore so I have never bought any.

Len

Vista, CA (Zone 10a)

Shadowridge Area

"Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are."

-- Alfred Austin

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Very nice Tim; that C. novea calidonea was one I was growing as well-please post photos as it gets older. I'd love to see a cyathea with buttress roots. And Bill, sorry but I already traded all of my cyatheas.

San Fernando Valley, California

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Thanks Len, thanks Peter. I meant to say 'seedling' not seeding. Oops. Mine are growing pretty fast and I'll keep you up to date.

Actually, here is a garden photo of one of the mature C. novea caledoniae where mine came from. It is really tall and the base was

way down in the canyon. Almost impossible to get a picture of the base.

post-1300-081891300 1332134016_thumb.jpg

Tim

Hilo, Hawaii

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These are really beautiful. Thank you, everyone, for sharing.

I realize I'm most likely out of the running, but what Zones do tree-ferns thrive in? Survive in? Outright die in?

-Erik

"Ph'nglui mglw'napalma Funkthulhu R'Lincolnea wgah'palm fhtagn"
"In his house at Lincoln, dread Funkthulhu plants palm trees."

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The most cold-hardy commercially available tree ferns, Dicksonia antarctica, take temperatures as low as 15F but don't love dry, hot summers. I've never seen Dicksonia antarctica in lowland Hawaii or Florida. There are other species like Cyathea australis and some other Dicksonias and Cyatheas from NZ & Australia that might take equally low temperatures. Cyathea cooperi, the other commonly available tree fern in California, Hawaii & Florida, is more prone to frost damage. Some plants seems to burn below 30F though they easily regrow from 20-25F. Cyathea cooperi is an aggressive weed in Hawaii. Dicksonia squarrosa is a suckering tree fern from NZ that should be able to rebound from the roots after some pretty severe freezes.

Cibotium glaucum, the hapu'u, recovered from temperatures in the mid-20s F at the San Francisco Botanical Garden, but it required five years to finally show life again. There are two other species, Cibotium menziesii, the "black" hapu'u, and Cibotium chamissoi. There's a fourth, Cibotium nealiae, on Kaua'i. Cibotium glaucum is the most common and easy to ID because the undersides of the fronds are glaucous, in keeping with its species name.

Jason Dewees

Inner Sunset District

San Francisco, California

Sunset zone 17

USDA zone 10a

21 inches / 530mm annual rainfall, mostly October to April

Humidity averages 60 to 85 percent year-round.

Summer: 67F/55F | 19C/12C

Winter: 56F/44F | 13C/6C

40-year extremes: 96F/26F | 35.5C/-3.8C

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Wow, Jason thanks for the info on Cibotium. I've seen two different types up in Volcano, but had no idea there were more. Of course when it comes to plants there is a bit of 'palm' tunnel vision going on.

Tim

Hilo, Hawaii

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here are some we are growing at Leu Gardens;

Cyathea princeps (native from southern Mexico to Central America)

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Dicksonia antarctica

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Cyathea australis

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Cyathea brownii

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Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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Cyathea cooperi 'Revolvens'

img_3702.jpg

Cyahtea cooperi

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Cibotium barometz

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Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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While not a true tree fern, Angiopteris evecta can get a pseudo trunk sveral feet high

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  • Upvote 1

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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Another false tree fern, Osmunda regalis. I saw this specimen hiking in Spring Hammock Preserve, never saw one with that much stem

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  • Upvote 1

Eric

Orlando, FL

zone 9b/10a

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Cyathea rebeccae at the top of the canopy in my backyard (7 metres plus)

DSC_0393.jpg

Juvenile

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Kurt

Living the dream in the Rainforest - Average annual rainfall over 4000 mm a year!!!

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Sweet Kurt, 7 plus metres, that's up there... :drool:

Happy Gardening

Cheers,

Wal

Queensland, Australia.

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  • 1 month later...

No shortage of tree ferns here! I would urge caution in mixing these with your palms though as they can have very aggressive roots which can be detrimental to surrounding vegetation. Around here they also drop sap which becomes blackened with fungus. I don't think this does too much harm but can be unsightly in a formal setting. Cyathea robusta is a personal favourite of mine, it's from Lord Howe and the ones in cultivation here have very white scales. There are some pretty cool large species from PNG too like "Giant Orange" which don't need much heat.

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Can any of them take zone 9b and 4-6 hours of sun? They would look so excellent in my garden and I have a spot like that just begging for something exotic!

Begonias are my thing. I've been growing and selling them for three decades, nearly two in Tampa Bay. NPR is an bhour N of St Pete, coast

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If you'd like to see a pretty good movie thriller with tons of tree fern footage (Dicksonia antarctica in Tasmanian habitat), check out The Hunter, with Willem Dafoe. I just saw it tonight and thought it was pretty good. Incredible footage of Tasmanian wilderness.

Jason Dewees

Inner Sunset District

San Francisco, California

Sunset zone 17

USDA zone 10a

21 inches / 530mm annual rainfall, mostly October to April

Humidity averages 60 to 85 percent year-round.

Summer: 67F/55F | 19C/12C

Winter: 56F/44F | 13C/6C

40-year extremes: 96F/26F | 35.5C/-3.8C

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I saw the Hunter last week and alot of it was filmed 2 hrs from where i live .

Here are a few tree fern i saw 2 months ago bushwalikng !

treefernsgroup.jpg

Russelfalls2.jpg

2treeferns.jpg

Old Beach ,Hobart
Tasmania ,Australia. 42 " south
Cool Maritime climate

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Can any of them take zone 9b and 4-6 hours of sun? They would look so excellent in my garden and I have a spot like that just begging for something exotic!

The common Australian tree fern (C. Cooperi) has done well in a similar situation in 9a. It can lose its leaves if it gets too hot (occasionally during the summer) but comes back nicely.

-Krishna

-Krishna

Kailua, Oahu HI. Near the beach but dry!

Still have a garden in Zone 9a Inland North Central Florida (Ocala)

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My C. australis has only grown this much in 12 months

DSCF2718.jpg

treefernmy.jpg

Philip Wright

Sydney southern suburbs

Frost-free within 20 km of coast

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some big ones in the Blue Mountains:

DeanesCreek014.jpg

DeanesCreek012.jpg

Philip Wright

Sydney southern suburbs

Frost-free within 20 km of coast

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Some of ours. First the big one, Cyathea brownii, across from the 2nd storey bedroom window.

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a group shot the young C. robusta, C. cooperi, C. australis and the Brownii trunk

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The robusta from the side and the top

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A C. cooperi

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a big Dicksonia 7' on a lean

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a Dicksonia with 5-6' of trunk splitting into 2 heads

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Another dicksonia with a pup half way up it's 6' trunk.

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Cyathea australis frow the side and top 5' trunk

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Another australis lobsided from being too crowded for light

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Cheers Steve

It is not dead, it is just senescence.

   

 

 

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Phil, your australis is doing well. They are very slow, put in a cooperii and in about 5 years it will be above your head, and the australis will be a foot taller.

Cheers Steve

It is not dead, it is just senescence.

   

 

 

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  • 2 years later...

Bump! don't know how I missed this thread originally.

I love tree ferns, current;y Im growing cyathea cooperi (which is the only one readily available east of California), Blechnum gibbum, and will soon acquire a hapu'u Cibotium. I also managed to germinate spores of the Caribbean native Cyathea arborea that I collected on the island of Dominica last year, I hope I can keep them alive!

Wal, are there any native tree ferns near you? I know Australia has several species

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I love tree ferns - they have this prehistoric, Jurassic look to them. They are awesome.

I have two C. cooperi in 5g pots, they are already getting large (stems are more than 5 feet long with a 6 inch trunk) and need to go into the ground.

They are *very* sensitive to dry soil and don't like it at all. The leaves can start turning to a crisp in a matter of hours if any portion of the soil dries up, no matter what the weather is. Then they will look like crap until the new fronds roll open. Best to give them plenty of water as I don't think you can really overwater them.

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