The long awaited, much anticipated tree fern trunks are now available! We have a variety of different sized Dicksonia antarcticas, 1ft tall up to 6ft tall, all bare root, which makes transporting them far and wide much easier! This well known tree fern, Dicksonia antarctica, is an evergreen Australian tree fern with large fronds and a dark brown trunk – slow growing to 3m/10ft or more. It should be planted in a moisture retentive soil in a cool shaded position out of strong winds. It can also be grown in a cool shaded conservatory if preferred.
Larger specimens are able to stand temperatures as low as -10°C but in very cold areas the crown should be protected with a mulch of bracken or straw. In every case, the tree fern should be watered freely, especially in warm weather.
We always advise feeding antarcticas with a high nitrogen liquid feed — on the fronds and trunk of the fern from mid-spring to mid-summer, in order to encourage green frond growth. This is because it is unable to absorb nutrients at the base of the trunk in the same way as the other Dicksonia varieties – it is the top foot of the tree fern that is alive and able to take in all the goodness it requires.
These Dicksonia antarctica tree fern trunks will be sent as bare root trunks, not in a pot. There is a chance that fronds will not remain intact or may become damaged on the larger 5ft and 6ft trunks. Fronds may be removed prior to transport in such cases – or we will do our best to carefully wrap if possible. Trunks below 5ft should be transported with intact fronds, without a problem.
Don’t forget the trunk measurement also includes the trunk that will be ‘hidden’ within the pot/beneath the ground when planted out, so a 2ft trunk tree fern won’t be 2ft of ‘visible trunk’ – but nearer 1ft of visible trunk. Do take this into consideration when thinking about the size that would best suit you and your garden – and the fact that they are slow growing, so will take a great deal of time to reach a ‘desired height’ if you purchase one a way off that height.
Buy your tree fern trunk now! If your delivery address is within Cornwall, please contact us with your requirements so we can offer you the best delivery price.