Vancouver’s Trachys

[Palm D 95]

Vancouver’s Trachycarpus basking in the January sunshine 11C.

[Zifool 46]

Nice pics ! What is it protected in 3rd pics ?

Great view picture 4 with mountain !

[Palm D 95]

12 hours ago, Zifool said:

Nice pics ! What is it protected in 3rd pics ?

Great view picture 4 with mountain !

Dicksonia Antarctica:)

[PalmTreeDude 1,692]

They look like they like it there, nice and green too! I like when they are tall like that. 

Edited January 17 by PalmTreeDude

[Reyes Vargas 180]

The palms in the 3rd picture almost look like washingtonias.  Nice.

[Palm Man 56]

On 1/16/2021 at 2:32 AM, Zifool said:

Nice pics ! What is it protected in 3rd pics ?

Great view picture 4 with mountain !

Could you tell me how the Dicksonias are wrapped? It looks like you have bubble wrap on the outside maybe? Are they left wrapped all winter? I have a large one in a container that I'm thinking of putting in the ground and protecting possibly with string lights, burlap or frost cloth, and then perhaps bubble wrap or insulation in extreme weather.

The Trachycarpus are fabulous as well as the view! It's very beautiful up there! 

[Paradise Found 77]

Palm D, nice pictures on a beautiful day! Cheers!  The pic with the tree ferns is that Carl's old place. 

Edited January 17 by Paradise Found

[Palm D 95]

1 hour ago, Palm Man said:

Could you tell me how the Dicksonias are wrapped? It looks like you have bubble wrap on the outside maybe? Are they left wrapped all winter? I have a large one in a container that I'm thinking of putting in the ground and protecting possibly with string lights, burlap or frost cloth, and then perhaps bubble wrap or insulation in extreme weather.

The Trachycarpus are fabulous as well as the view! It's very beautiful up there! 

This is one of my clients place, he wraps the Dicksonia each year in late fall.  He starts by trimming off the fronds but keeping a little bit of the stems in the crown to support a nest of leaves that help insulate the crown.  He then wraps the entire trunk with burlap then with bubble wrap and then puts a big plastic bag over the entire thing, tying it down with string.  
 

Technically this is zone 9a and the ferns would likely be fine unprotected, but given their age and how special they are and how long it takes to wrap one of these should the need arise last minute, he does it well ahead of time each year.  They come back in the spring like nothing has happened! 

[Palm D 95]

1 hour ago, Paradise Found said:

Palm D, nice pictures on a beautiful day! Cheers!  The pic with the tree ferns is that Carl's old place. 

Rudi’s sons 

[Paradise Found 77]

1 hour ago, Palm D said:

Rudi’s sons 

Rudi yes that the name I was thinking.  Banana Joe likes to go there a lot.  I miss the old PNW palm and exotic web site. 

[Palm Man 56]

Thanks for sharing that information. I have little experience growing tree ferns outside year round. Once I overwintered a Cyathea cooperi by wrapping it in bubble wrap and then black plastic over that. I left the crown open, which was probably ill advised. The fronds were killed but, to my delight, the fern pushed out new fronds in the Spring. Cyathea cooperi has shown a fair amount of hardiness here. I haven't dared trying Dicksonia outside due to their slow growth and cost. I'm tempted to buy a number of young Cyathea cooperi to plant out in Spring and see how much growth I could get in our warm humid summers. Then I could experiment with winter protection. 

It might be possible to protect the Dicksonia (and the Cyathea) the same way you have, except wrap some string lights over the burlap for extreme weather.  Our winter weather is generally mild, but like all the Southeast can be extreme for brief (usually) periods. I grow a number of palms such as Trachycarpus, Sabals, Chamaerops, Rhapidophyllum, and Butia, but these are all much hardier than tree ferns of course.

[Chester B 1,362]

I see 1 gallon dicksonia on average for about $12. I’m sure if you found a small one it would be cheap and easy to protect due to their slow growth. 

[Palm Man 56]

Good idea! I'd probably have to mail order it though, as tree ferns aren't generally offered for sale here. They are so beautiful that they are worth the effort. I wish I could find true Cyathea australis for sale. They are said to be about the same hardiness as Dicksonia antarctica. 

[Chester B 1,362]

Believe it or not I see Dicksonia and Cyathea mixed in with the regular ferns. All the other subtropical/tropical plants are in a separate designated section.