How to grow tree ferns

Make sure you can provide the right conditions for a tree fern (Dicksonia antarctica AGM):

• Tree ferns thrive in a humid and shaded position
• They will not tolerate temperatures below -5°C
• Allow room for your tree fern to spread. Fronds on mature specimens may reach 2m (6ft) or more in length
• Plant in a humus-rich, neutral to slightly acidic soil
• Choose a fern with a length of trunk that suits your planting scheme from the start; tree ferns only grow about 2.5cm (1in) a year
• If you are buying a young tree fern without a trunk, make sure you are able to overwinter it in frost-free conditions 

• As a frondless trunk (overwinter in frost-free conditions)
• In full leaf with a trunk
• As a young plant with no trunk

Prepare the planting area by digging in plenty of well-rotted manure. Plant your tree fern at the same level as it was in the container.

Planting a tree fern ‘log’

Soak the base, and plant just enough of the trunk to ensure that the plant remains stable.

After planting, water frondless tree ferns every day (unless there is high rainfall) until the foliage starts to emerge.

Growing tree ferns in containers

Plant in peat-free ericaceous compost and place in bright, filtered light. You can grow tree ferns in a large greenhouse or conservatory as long as they are shaded, humid and well ventilated.  Avoid indoor temperatures greater than 32°C (90°F).

You can stand young plants outside in the summer, but keep them out of direct sunlight.
 

Container maintenance

Container maintenance

1. Sever the offsets cleanly from the parent trunk or roots
2. Pot them up in loam-based peat-free ericaceous compost, just deep enough so that they sit upright
3. Water them in, and place the pot in a propagator at 15-20°C (59-68°F) in bright but filtered light
4. Once new growth shows, start to harden them off to outdoor conditions

Hardening off tender plants

Hardening off tender plants