Dicksonia Antarctica update

[happypalms]

I purchased this Dicksonia around 8 months ago it has tucked itself in nicely into the garden purchased from a chain store occasionally you do get some good plants from chain stores and this was one of them it was just a bare stump with no leaves just cut of at ground level and sold by a commercial harvesting contractor 

[Meangreen94z]

Beautiful. That’s one I couldn’t get to survive while in Houston. Here it’s a bit too cold

[thyerr01]

@Meangreen94z Too hot and dry in Houston? I've been thinking about trying one here.

[Meangreen94z]

1 hour ago, thyerr01 said:

@Meangreen94z Too hot and dry in Houston? I've been thinking about trying one here.

I kept the two I had in most day shade and tried to keep them moist. They died but both were in containers. Im sure there is a combination that they can survive in. 

[happypalms]

Houston we have a problem 🚀

[Chester B]

I spoke with the owner of Fern Plantation (near Magnolia) about Tree ferns.  She told me that Dicksonia antarctica does very well in our area.  She said they even adapt to pretty full sun locations as long as they get enough water - I was surprised to hear this.  But the ones I had growing in Oregon got a lot more sun than I planned on, after having to remove a large maple tree.  Really it doesn't get that cold here, we would grow them in the PNW with colder average winter lows.  A bit of frost cloth in the crown goes a long way.

And yes they do sell them, with the larger specimens having a couple of feet of trunk.

[happypalms]

4 hours ago, Chester B said:

I spoke with the owner of Fern Plantation (near Magnolia) about Tree ferns.  She told me that Dicksonia antarctica does very well in our area.  She said they even adapt to pretty full sun locations as long as they get enough water - I was surprised to hear this.  But the ones I had growing in Oregon got a lot more sun than I planned on, after having to remove a large maple tree.  Really it doesn't get that cold here, we would grow them in the PNW with colder average winter lows.  A bit of frost cloth in the crown goes a long way.

And yes they do sell them, with the larger specimens having a couple of feet of trunk.

Cool tolerance as the name suggests the more humidity provided the more sun a lot of plants will take and definitely a lot better looking than the tree fern cooperi varietie there are so many ferns available they make wonderful additions to your garden I get a lot of ferns as weeds in my container nursery.

[Chester B]

1 hour ago, happypalms said:

Cool tolerance as the name suggests the more humidity provided the more sun a lot of plants will take and definitely a lot better looking than the tree fern cooperi varietie there are so many ferns available they make wonderful additions to your garden I get a lot of ferns as weeds in my container nursery.

Humidity isn't a problem here, but I didn't think they could tolerate our heat but learned otherwise.

I have seen tree ferns in habitat a number of times between visits to NZ and AU.  Pretty cool when they are big enough to walk under.

[happypalms]

13 hours ago, Chester B said:

Humidity isn't a problem here, but I didn't think they could tolerate our heat but learned otherwise.

I have seen tree ferns in habitat a number of times between visits to NZ and AU.  Pretty cool when they are big enough to walk under.

They are something to see in habitat quite spectacular when you are standing in amongst them there are some spectacular forests of them in Tasmania