Question
tree fern new location
I live in the Dandenong Ranges near Melbourne Australia,the climate is cool temperate. The summers have been getting much drier,with some extremely hot days even in our misty, moist Eucalyptus Regnans forests. I had an old tree fern growing too closely to the house and it was partly pushing up under the eaves and also some tree cover has gone recently and it would have been exposed to too much hot sun.It is about 2.5 meters tall and when we began to dig it out it became clear that it was also growing right beside a buried concrete path and its roots were mainly lost in the attempt to get it out.It had always flourished before and must be quite old and I would like to know what it's chances of survival are, and whether it would have had a tap root anchoring it. It kind of felt like it when we were driving the shovel in underneath the root ball, almost horizontally, to free it from the concrete slab.
It will now be in a shadier location in rich, organic soil, and we cut off most of its fronds and anchored it with rope.What else should we do? How long, do you think, it will be before it will be self-supporting?
Thank you for your help,
Rosemarie
AnswerHi Rosemarie,
Thanx for your question. I can only recall one other question about this plant from a man in the U.K.
I couldn't find anything in my references about a taproot. The issue seems to be to keep the plant well-hydrated as it resents drought. Here's an article on Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dicksonia_antarctica
Everything else I have read on Gardenweb UK forum has some excellent information about growing Dicksonia. It would appear to me that you need to get as much of the root material as possible. Plant it in an area that drains well but is very moist. Include lots of rich compost as this plant is a heavy feeder. Mulch it to maintain humidity. It is known to grow roots at a very quick rate and establish itself quickly. So, it sounds like you have a good chance at success. Check out this link below.
http://www.uk.gardenweb.com/forums/load/ukgard/msg0407061219824.html
I hope this helps.
Tom
