Thursday, February 06, 2014

Favourite Plant of the Week - Dicksonia antarctica

Thursday, February 06, 2014   Mark and Gaz   23 comments

We haven't had hard frosts and low temperatures yet to brown off the fronds so they're still looking very lush and green when I saw them last weekend. Seeing them so verdant still has made them our favourite plant for this week.

Dicksonia antarctica
Seeing tree ferns in leaf never fails to bring a smile on our faces. However what bought an extra smile was remembering that, yes, they sailed through fire damage too! Defoliated and trunk charred to nothing but chunky poles, lo and behold they flushed again a few weeks later and carried on like nothing happened.

They are a lot tougher than you think! Well a few Aussies did say so as well to us before fresh from the event and they were right.

 So how do we usually protect them in the winter? With a ball of frost fleece or landscape fabric on to their crown with a scarf too of the same materials wrapped around their 'necks' for good measure.
This one was damaged by winter 2010/11 and has since only put out very short fronds. When it got scorched we thought that was then end of this as this tree fern was weak already. But it wasn't and it flushed again. 
So far this winter, no need to protect them yet. Hopefully we won't have to....

 We join Loree of Danger Garden for her favourite plant of the week meme!

Posted in: exotic blog , exotic garden , favourite , tree fern

23 comments :

  1. ricki6 February 2014 at 22:43

    No such luck for us: snowing hard and 12 degrees. Needless to say, I am enjoying your tropical look.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark and Gaz7 February 2014 at 09:09

      I hope the cold spell there won't last long Ricki!

      Delete
  2. Alison7 February 2014 at 00:05

    What a great plant! I'm so glad they came back from the fire. I'm going to have to look for one to overwinter in my greenhouse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark and Gaz7 February 2014 at 09:12

      That's a good idea Alison! Perhaps plant one out too (if it's big enough) as your climate is very similar to ours and more likely it will be fine planted out with some winter protection.

      Delete
  3. Unknown7 February 2014 at 01:42

    Tough and beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tom7 February 2014 at 03:30

    I adore these. They're so tropical yet so temperate all at the same time. The trunks make a really interesting lumber for fencing after the tree dies (or is cut down). When I was in New Zealand we toured a reconstructed Maori meeting house (argh I can't remember the proper term...council house?) and it had a stockade-type fence made entire of tree fern trunks, it was so beautiful and rugged I could barely even stand it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark and Gaz7 February 2014 at 09:18

      We adore them too Tom, can't get enough of them! :) And you're right, they look so tropical and yet so temperate. Apparently when they first made their way in the UK the trunks were used to stabilise ships and then the trunks were used for fencing. And much to their surprise most of these logs sprouted and rooted.

      Delete
  5. danger garden7 February 2014 at 06:10

    It still amazes me you're able to grow these in the ground...let alone that they've come back so strong from the fire. Definitely deserving of the favorite title!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark and Gaz7 February 2014 at 09:21

      Our climates are very similar Loree, it's worth trying planting them out in gardens there. I know you planted one out last year, hopefully it will be fine and sail through the cold spells you guys have been having there. We're very confident and optimistic with your tree fern :)

      Delete
  6. David Marsden7 February 2014 at 06:48

    One of my all time favourites too Boys - not just of the week. Remarkable that it just shrugged off that charring. Dave

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark and Gaz7 February 2014 at 09:21

      Same here Dave. It's an all year round favourite for many people including us :)

      Delete
  7. karen gimson7 February 2014 at 09:15

    Just gorgeous, against a blue sky.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark and Gaz7 February 2014 at 09:22

      Thanks Karen, they are and with blue sky too as a bonus :)

      Delete
  8. Janet/Plantaliscious7 February 2014 at 21:12

    Such magnificent plants, I love that they just shrugged off the fire like that.

    ReplyDelete
  9. debsgarden8 February 2014 at 02:52

    A beautiful and very tough plant! With a name like Dicksonia antarctica, I would have thought it frost proof! But then, in Antarctica one does have to wrap up warmly!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark and Gaz9 February 2014 at 08:02

      A tough plant indeed but not tough enough for current Antarctic conditions even as the species name suggests :)

      Delete
  10. Sunray Gardens8 February 2014 at 11:22

    It's amazing what plants survive a fire but that one is leafing out beautifully. I love anything Fern, they are such pretty plants and this one is no exception.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hannah8 February 2014 at 18:36

    Tree ferns look so primordial, that's interesting information about the uses of the wood. How great that it survived the fire!

    ReplyDelete
  12. DC Tropics10 February 2014 at 17:19

    I love tree ferns, how I wish I could grow them here!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to reply to our post, we love reading comments and hearing your views.

Due to the increased level of spam, please note comments on older posts are moderated and only published after approval. All new comments are read and any spam is deleted.