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Growing Tree Ferns

Tree ferns lend a lush, tropical air to any garden design. Most readily available are Dicksonia antarctica that are imported from Australasia as rootless trunks. With the proper care, they can become well established and are magnificent plants for a focal point. Increasingly, local-grown tree ferns are becoming available and these already have a good root system.

Preparation

Tree ferns can be expensive, so be well prepared to receive your tree and plant it quickly so that it has the best chance to root and do well. Choose a site that is damp, but not wet, and with some midday protection from the sun. Soak you tree fern for 2–3 days then plant in a hole at least 30 cm deep and secure the trunk with guy ropes to prevent rocking.

Watering

Water the crown, trunk and the ground around the trunk often, as the roots run down from the crown to the ground on the outside of the trunk. Watering is needed when the weather is dry and particularly in the spring as new fronds emerge. Tree fern fertiliser may help healthy growth, especially in the early years.

Winter Protection

Protect the crown with fleece, straw or other material stuffed between the base of the fronds when frosty weather approaches. However, do not use a material that becomes sodden, causing the crown to remain wet, as rot may set in. it's best to leave old fronds in place over winter, as this will give some protection to the trunk.

Choice Ferns

Here is our selection of tree ferns that do well in the garden or glasshouse. Only Dicksonia antartica is readily available in garden centres. You will need to explore specialist nurseries to find other species. Many species of tree ferns are protected in the wild, so do your research and make sure your plants have been ethically sourced.

Soft Tree Fern

Dicksonia antartica

The most widely available and hardiest tree fern. It is possible to grow this species in most parts of the UK with minimal winter protection. Best in dappled shade but will also thrive in brighter conditions if given adequate water.

Golden Tree Fern

Dicksonia fibrosa

D. fibrosa is similar to D. antarctica, only slightly smaller and has lighter coloured fronds. It is technically not as hardy, but its fronds may be more resilient to the cold in an average winter.

Lacy Tree Fern

Sphaeropteris cooperi

A surprisingly fast-growing tree fern with large, attractive light green fronds. Fed and watered well, this will form a slender trunk fairly quickly. In most locations in the UK, bring it into a frost-free greenhouse over winter.

Silver Fern

Alsophila tricolor

This tree fern has soft, green growth when young, developing silver stalks and undersides to the fronds as it matures. It often grows horizontally for a few years before turning to grow upwards. The frond of this tree fern is the National symbol of New Zealand.

Dwarf Tree Fern

Oceaniopteris gibba

Often sold as the Silver Lady Fern, this attractive Blechnum species is commonly available. It can do well as a houseplant, but will prefer the humidity of the glasshouse. It is very happy in the garden, in a shady spot over the summer months.

King Fern

Angiopteris evecta

Not technically a tree fern, but this fern grows to giant proportions. It doesn't form a trunk but instead grows from a massive rhizome. It has the longest fronds of any fern. It isn't hardy and must be kept in warm conditions.

How to care for your tree fern.

Tree ferns are easy to care for once they are established and have grown a root system. It’s wise to provide extra support with guy ropes for 2–3 years to stop wind-rock. They require watering every 1–2 days in dry weather until their roots have grown. Watering should be to the crown, the trunk and the ground around the fern. Once established, watering is needed when the weather is dry and particularly in the spring as new fronds emerge. Tree fern fertiliser may help healthy growth, especially in the early years.

Do not remove green, healthy fronds at the end of the year, as has sometimes been the practice. Also, do not fold healthy fronds over the crown as this breaks the vascular channels that conduct water and sugars from the frond to the trunk. Whilst the fronds remain green and exposed to light, they are photosynthesising and provide the plant with energy to survive the winter and produce healthy fronds in the spring. Protect the crown from frost with fleece, straw or other material stuffed between the base of the fronds and into the crown. However, do not use a material that becomes sodden, causing the crown to remain wet. Otherwise, crown rot may set in, and the tree fern will die.

Most problems relate to poor rooting, underwatering, or cold, especially wet cold. Tree ferns in the garden are seldom attacked by insect pests or diseases, although there is evidence that tree ferns can be destroyed by honey fungus and should not be planted in an area that is known to be infected with this organism.

Tree ferns in conservatories can be pray to several insect pests including fern scale. Sometimes, these infestations can be reduced by placing the fern outside for the summer months. If this isn’t possible, then insecticidal treatment may be needed. Scorching by the sun through glass is also very disfiguring to the fern and artificial shading should be used if there is no natural shade.

Problems

Practical advice for dealing with common problems, pest and diseases that can affect your ferns.

Propagation

How to propagate your ferns. From basic division to unravelling the mysteries of growing from spore.

Collections

Developing and maintaing a fern collection. How to safeguard your collection for the future.

Info Leaflets

We have a selection of information leaflets on different aspects of fern cultivation for you to download.

Download

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