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Trunk cut tree fern

Robbertico18
Robbertico18
in TROPICAL LOOKING PLANTS - Other Than Palms

Featured Replies

Hey 

Has anyone ever successfully performed a trunk cut on an australian tree fern (Cyathea cooperi) ?

it seems that having snow back to back years was just too much for it and its rotten at the top, hoping to save it as its made it about 5 years and had gotten quite large 

  • Author

IMG_7360.thumb.jpeg.0cb293e6d2b73087c40e1526fb23d9e1.jpeg

inside of the trunk IMG_7361.thumb.jpeg.4fc133da480519f03a9f22863c655492.jpeg

Barring some miracle I think it is very dead. I lost one to crown rot unrelated to cold, looked very similar though. Like palms, they can't recover from losing their central meristem like this. 

As a small solace, the trunk, root ball, and any fibrous material that's left over make excellent media for orchids and other plants. Definitely don't let it go to waste. I used a sawzall to cut several plaques out of the solid mass of the central root ball of mine. It's not quite as dense as the New Zealand stuff you can buy commercially but it retains water while being very rot resistant. 

 

    • Like 2

    Agree with the above. 

    If you can find one, Cyathea australis might be a better fit for your climate. Definitely a whole lot hardier than cooperi...native to the cooler parts of Australia, would see occasional snow in some parts of its range here in Tasmania, but would also probably cope better with muggy heat than something like Dicksonia. Some of the NZ species might be worth looking for too.

    South Arm, Tasmania, Australia - 42° South

    Mild oceanic climate, with coastal exposure.

     

    Summer: 12°C (53°F) average min, to 21°C (70°F) average daily max. Up to 40°C (104°F max) rarely.

     

    Winter: 6°C (43°F) average min, to 13°C (55°F) average daily max. Down to 0°C (32°F) occasionally, some light frost.

    • Like 2
    • Author
    On 5/10/2026 at 5:28 PM, Jonathan said:

    Agree with the above. 

    If you can find one, Cyathea australis might be a better fit for your climate. Definitely a whole lot hardier than cooperi...native to the cooler parts of Australia, would see occasional snow in some parts of its range here in Tasmania, but would also probably cope better with muggy heat than something like Dicksonia. Some of the NZ species might be worth looking for too.

    I'll have to hunt for one, all that I've seen around here are the cooperi with the occasional dicksonia.  

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