Just how hardy are Tree Ferns.
I live in SW UK

John

"Serendipity" wrote in message
...
Just how hardy are Tree Ferns.
I live in SW UK

John

I had a small tree fern and forgot to bring it in when the frosts hit a few
years ago. It died. They aren't very hardy - especially when small. I think
larger ones can be got through Winter outdoors by binding then in straw -
but wouldn't like to risk it.

Drakanthus (in the Midlands).

"Serendipity" wrote in message
...
Just how hardy are Tree Ferns.
I live in SW UK

John

It depends which Tree Fern you have. Dickinsonia antartica has survived
several years in my London garden without any protection other than letting
fallen leaves stay in the crown.

Natalie

"Serendipity" wrote in message
...
Just how hardy are Tree Ferns.
I live in SW UK

John

John,

Drop in here http://www.meudon.co.uk/ for lunch one weekend, then wander
down into their garden and you'll see the kind of shelter needed by
treeferns unlagged. If your conditions don't match this deep, sheltered
valley, then grow them, but lag them well.


Chris Webb

Serendipity wrote:

Just how hardy are Tree Ferns.
I live in SW UK

Depending upon what part of the SW you live, there are several species
of tree fern which should be fine with you. The hardiest is probably
Dicksonia antarctica and unless you live on the top of Bodmin moor
Dartmoor or Exemoor, you should be able o overwinter it totally
unprotected. Dicksonia fibrosa is almost as hardy and a very good bet
for the SouthWest. Cyathea australis rates as tough if not tougher
than D. fibrosa and is a comparatively fast grower with attractive
pale green fronds.

In regions where winter lows drop to minus 5C or more with regularity,
D. antarctica is your best bet. It should survive quite well to minus
5C without protection, but to be safe, lagging the trunk with several,
loose layers of horticultural fleece and stuffing leaves into the
crown will suffice.

If you live in one of the more sheltered or warmer parts of the SW,
you could opt for stunning beauties such as Cyathea dealbata and C.
medullaris. Both do well in the near frost-free conditions of
sheltered south coastal regions and often retain their leaves well.
My favourite is C. dealbata, which does magnificently here in one of
the coldest corners of my garden. Its delicate, apple green leaves
are backed a ghostly bluish white and almost fluoresce if back-lit at
night.

Ideal conditions are light overhead or dappled shade, moist yet well
drained, humus enriched soils and regular additional watering during
hot dry weather. Applying water to the trunk on a daily basis in
summer help create the humidity they crave and ensures regular
'flushes' of new fronds.

All tree ferns relish regular feeding and an application of pelleted
poultry manure around their roots in spring plus another in mid summer
will keep them moving and producing ever larger fronds.

HTH.
David Poole
TORQUAY UK

On Mon, 21 Oct 2002 18:43:23 +0100, wrote:

Serendipity wrote:

Just how hardy are Tree Ferns.
I live in SW UK

Depending upon what part of the SW you live, there are several species
of tree fern which should be fine with you. The hardiest is probably
Dicksonia antarctica and unless you live on the top of Bodmin moor
Dartmoor or Exemoor, you should be able o overwinter it totally
unprotected. Dicksonia fibrosa is almost as hardy and a very good bet
for the SouthWest. Cyathea australis rates as tough if not tougher
than D. fibrosa and is a comparatively fast grower with attractive
pale green fronds.

In regions where winter lows drop to minus 5C or more with regularity,
D. antarctica is your best bet. It should survive quite well to minus
5C without protection, but to be safe, lagging the trunk with several,
loose layers of horticultural fleece and stuffing leaves into the
crown will suffice.

If you live in one of the more sheltered or warmer parts of the SW,
you could opt for stunning beauties such as Cyathea dealbata and C.
medullaris. Both do well in the near frost-free conditions of
sheltered south coastal regions and often retain their leaves well.
My favourite is C. dealbata, which does magnificently here in one of
the coldest corners of my garden. Its delicate, apple green leaves
are backed a ghostly bluish white and almost fluoresce if back-lit at
night.

Ideal conditions are light overhead or dappled shade, moist yet well
drained, humus enriched soils and regular additional watering during
hot dry weather. Applying water to the trunk on a daily basis in
summer help create the humidity they crave and ensures regular
'flushes' of new fronds.

All tree ferns relish regular feeding and an application of pelleted
poultry manure around their roots in spring plus another in mid summer
will keep them moving and producing ever larger fronds.

HTH.
David Poole
TORQUAY UK

Thank you Dave, for what is probably the fullest answer I've seen
in a couple of years od enquiring. I have Dicksonian which, when
I first purchased it, was somewhat smaller and considerably slimmer
than any other in the garden centre. The salesman advised me
that I could have a much better specimen for the same price, but
it was such a beautiful shape that I took a chance.

Result was/is a fabulous tree with spectacular fronds, admired
by neighbours and friends, in fact it set something of a standard.'

Once again, thank you David, those other friends who gave
their opinions and advice.

May I be the first to wish you a very Happy Christmas :-)

John

"Serendipity" wrote in message
...
Just how hardy are Tree Ferns.
I live in SW UK

John

All the usual gardening programs suggested wrapping the fern in a wire mesh,
inside which you stick a mass of straw. As far as I know though the only
growing point is the very tip or the plant, and thus it's really only this
that should need protection. Mind you this was an Antartica species.

I think if it's fairly small still then bringing it indoors or into a
greenhouse is probably the safest bet.

Duncan

On Tue, 22 Oct 2002 08:21:27 +0100, "Duncan Russell"
wrote:

"Serendipity" wrote in message
.. .
Just how hardy are Tree Ferns.
I live in SW UK

John

All the usual gardening programs suggested wrapping the fern in a wire mesh,
inside which you stick a mass of straw. As far as I know though the only
growing point is the very tip or the plant, and thus it's really only this
that should need protection. Mind you this was an Antartica species.

I think if it's fairly small still then bringing it indoors or into a
greenhouse is probably the safest bet.

Duncan
.................................................. ...
Thank you for the suggestion Duncan. As you will probably have
noted from other contributors. there doesn't appear to be a
general concensus on what is right and what is wrong.

In the event, I'm using the best pieces of all your suggestions
so I have little fear of any serious harm coming to my 'Dicksonian'
even if the weather should turn arctic on me.

Regards
John
.................................................. .......

Serendipity wrote:

Just how hardy are Tree Ferns.
I live in SW UK

John

I would urge you to think twice (and preferably several times more)
before buying a tree fern.

They are very fashionable at the moment but are all taken from the wild.
Tree Ferns are very slow growing and a 4-6 ft specimen can easily be
over 100 years old.

At the moment, some specimens are very common in New Zealand and, as
large areas of ancient New Zealand forest are cleared for development,
the New Zealand government has issued licenses for their export.

An argument is that they would probably be burnt anyway, so why not buy
them and they are very common.

However, would you be happy for 100 year old English oaks to be pulled
up and sold as a sideline for building development in England? And if
you wouldn't, I really don't think you should be buying Tree Ferns,
however "trendy".
--
Larry Stoter

An argument is that they would probably be burnt anyway, so why not buy
them and they are very common.

However, would you be happy for 100 year old English oaks to be pulled
up and sold as a sideline for building development in England? And if
you wouldn't, I really don't think you should be buying Tree Ferns,
however "trendy".
--
Larry Stoter



Larry, if the Oaks were going to be cut down or destroyed in any way
whatsoever, I'd rather they were sold off and relocated. I wouldn't be
bothered where to. If they went to China, I wouldn't care, at least they'd be
alive.

I think you have a problem with the NZ government's policy on development, and
that's another issue entirely. The only way to really address the issue in a
way that'd make you happy would be to stop development all together wherever
there are Dicksonia antarctica.

As the NZ government are unlikely to stop all development where there are
Dicksonia antarctica I think relocation is a good second option to fall back
on. At least the ferns are being preserved, only being taken from sites that
are being developed, and the government are regulating. I'm not sure that you
actually understand all the issues involved here. Whether people buy
Dicksonias or not is unlikely to affect anything at all.

Dave.

DaveDay34 wrote:

An argument is that they would probably be burnt anyway, so why not buy
them and they are very common.

However, would you be happy for 100 year old English oaks to be pulled
up and sold as a sideline for building development in England? And if
you wouldn't, I really don't think you should be buying Tree Ferns,
however "trendy".
--
Larry Stoter



Larry, if the Oaks were going to be cut down or destroyed in any way
whatsoever, I'd rather they were sold off and relocated. I wouldn't be
bothered where to. If they went to China, I wouldn't care, at least they'd be
alive.

Very short term view point. By concentrating on individuals (whether
plants or animals) you miss the real problem - distruction of habitat.
And you give an excuse to developers - " it's OK to dig up all these
trees, they'll be planted somewhere else" Well, yes but the habitat that
allows such trees to thrive is destroyed. So, finally, you end up with
the native habitat gone and a few pathetic specimens strugling to
survive in "parks" or "gardens".

I think you have a problem with the NZ government's policy on development, and
that's another issue entirely. The only way to really address the issue in a
way that'd make you happy would be to stop development all together wherever
there are Dicksonia antarctica.

No - I am prepared to accept development. However, I'm not happy that
development is encouraged by Europeans buying Dicksonia antarctica. That
might just be the key that makes a questionable development financially
possible. By taking the money that can be made on selling this "waste"
product out of the financial equation, it might give locals enough
leaverage to stop development - if that is what they want. This trade
could be viewed as cultural imperialism.

As the NZ government are unlikely to stop all development where there are
Dicksonia antarctica I think relocation is a good second option to fall back
on. At least the ferns are being preserved, only being taken from sites that
are being developed, and the government are regulating. I'm not sure that you
actually understand all the issues involved here. Whether people buy
Dicksonias or not is unlikely to affect anything at all.

Dave.

Sorry, as I have said, providing a market for these plants might tip the
balance on a questionable financial development.

And the preservation of individual plants is not really very important -
it is the destruction of their habitat which is serious.

To go back to an emotional arguement, nobody in the UK would accept 100
year old oaks being pulled up as part of a development project and sold
in garden centres - so why is it acceptable for 100 year old tree fearns
to be cut down and sold in UK garden centres?

--
Larry Stoter

On Thu, 24 Oct 2002 21:22:04 +0100, (Larry
Stoter) wrote:

Serendipity wrote:

Just how hardy are Tree Ferns.
I live in SW UK

John

I would urge you to think twice (and preferably several times more)
before buying a tree fern.

They are very fashionable at the moment but are all taken from the wild.
Tree Ferns are very slow growing and a 4-6 ft specimen can easily be
over 100 years old.

At the moment, some specimens are very common in New Zealand and, as
large areas of ancient New Zealand forest are cleared for development,
the New Zealand government has issued licenses for their export.

An argument is that they would probably be burnt anyway, so why not buy
them and they are very common.

However, would you be happy for 100 year old English oaks to be pulled
up and sold as a sideline for building development in England? And if
you wouldn't, I really don't think you should be buying Tree Ferns,
however "trendy".
.................................................. ..................

Larry,
I bought the Dicksonian because I consider it to be a
beautiful tree, not because it's 'trendy.'

I appreciate the concern you express, but suggest that if everyone
stopped buying shrubs or trees from another country -unless they
were an endangered species of course- our gardens would be diminished
by their absence.

Why don't the developers themselves use these plants?

For what it's worth, I wish you luck with any campaign you may float
against the practice, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

John
.................................................. ................

DaveDay34 wrote in message

Larry, if the Oaks were going to be cut down or destroyed in any way
whatsoever, I'd rather they were sold off and relocated. I wouldn't be
bothered where to. If they went to China, I wouldn't care, at least
they'd be
alive.

I think you have a problem with the NZ government's policy on
development, and
that's another issue entirely. The only way to really address the
issue in a
way that'd make you happy would be to stop development all together
wherever
there are Dicksonia antarctica.

As the NZ government are unlikely to stop all development where there
are
Dicksonia antarctica I think relocation is a good second option to fall
back
on. At least the ferns are being preserved, only being taken from
sites that
are being developed, and the government are regulating. I'm not sure
that you
actually understand all the issues involved here. Whether people buy
Dicksonias or not is unlikely to affect anything at all.

I think the thing is that the Dicksonia will survive the removing and
relocating whereas a full or even half grown oak would never do that.

As long as they do have the export license then I see no reason not to
have them in the UK, it is those people who dig up and sell plants from
the wild with no controls that is the real problem.

Mike
www.british-naturism.org.uk

I don't think Larry understands how little the Dicksonia are actually worth in
NZ. They aren't worth developing a site just to get at them. They wouldn't
make the difference between a site being profitable to develop or not. They
don't tip the balance, and as the sites would be developed anyway, it's better
that the plants are relocated rather than destroyed.

If the long term view is that we should stop developing sites where tree ferns
grow, then all well and good. In the mean time, I see no point in stopping the
relocation of such ferns.

Dave.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of any government licensing the
controlled marketing of native species, lets first understand that
Dicksonia antarctica is *not* a New Zealand native. All plants
entering this country as mature or semi-mature, unrooted logs are from
Australia & Tasmania where the species is very widespread and locally
extremely common. Certificated logs come from areas where development
is taking place and in some cases, the density of tree ferns is so
great that vast numbers have to be uprooted. It is these that would
otherwise be burnt since there is little or no local market for them.

New Zealand species such as semi-mature Dicksonia fibrosa and D.
squarrosa occasionally arrive into this country, but the quantities
involved are minute compared to those of D. antarctica. Many tree
ferns are now nursery raised, often imported from areas where they
grow comparatively quickly and buying those has absolutely no effect
upon wild stocks. My own Cyathea dealbata is such a plant - a
sporeling raised to saleable size prior to importation.


David Poole
TORQUAY UK