Planting a tree fern

Posts

• Dovefromabove Posts: 88,147

  August 2018

  Info here    https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p056m9x2

  
  Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
  
  
  
  
  
  

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• kev van Posts: 114

  August 2018

  I think I may have built the frame to my fern  planter bit big.  Inside height I got 2ft 9in . I reckon I could take the height down 6-9 in . My thinking is 1ft of compost up to a foot of tree fern then 2in of bark. 
  
  
  Any other ideas ?

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• Paul B3 Posts: 3,154

  August 2018

  I can guarantee (by my own experience) that it will not thrive in a pot !
  
  The 'trunk' , being mainly a mass of root in its own right , will send down adventitious roots seeking natural moisture in the ground . After maybe two years this will become an impenetrable mass resembling and having the form of coconut-matting ; the plant will become stunted and probably stop growing altogether .
  Far better in good soil in open ground and given copious amounts of water (soft-water) on an almost daily basis . Dappled shade is preferable to full sunshine .
  

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• kev van Posts: 114

  August 2018

  Thanks for reply Paul. How well do they take to being dug up with root ball say after 5 years? Only asking as that's our plan before selling our current home to hopefully something larger with much larger garden

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• Paul B3 Posts: 3,154

  August 2018 edited August 2018

  Kev van
  
  Neighbours must have deemed me clinically insane a few years ago ; with grim determination I extracted my 5' tree-fern from the pot it had 'existed' in for a number of years .
  Using two heavy garden forks I literally prised off the majority of its roots and then planted in a good loam in the garden ; discarding the old matted tangle of root material ; this had become so utterly congested as to be virtually impervious even to water !!
  The fern has never looked back , thriving in dappled shade , soaked every day and a lush verdant green which would possibly be the envy of many a neighbouring plant !
  Chlorosis is a distant dream .
  No exagerration here , but from frond-tip to frond-tip it measures over 7' diameter ; aided by my wifes dutiful watering regimen .
  DON'T be concerned about transplanting yours in around 5-years time ; simply do as I did and hack off all roots to within a couple of inches (literally) of the trunk (better when dormant in late Autumn).
  As I said earlier , the stem is actually a vertical mass of roots ; yours will respond well to this treatment and react accordingly to the stimulus . New adventitious roots will soon regrow in its eventual planting situation . Keep moist though .
  I have seen these plants arrive in the UK in packing cases with no roots at all ; given the assured 'knowledge' of the average staff at garden centres , it can only be a matter of wonder and amazement how any of them survive for retail selling to the public!!!
  
  Apologies for any hints of sarcasm there , but quite honestly our local g/c staff are about as useful in helping the public with plants , prospective purchasers may as well ask the staff at Tescos !
  Anyway , I'm rambling again ; good luck with your ideas and intentional plans to move
  house .
  
  PS! I remove all fronds in early winter , cutting as close as possible to the trunk .
  I've had mine for 15+ years and is fully acclimatised . It survived the winter of 09/10 unscathed and shrugged off the 'Beasts from the East' with a nonchalant disdain ; that's without any protection whatsoever . We're in E.Lincs , so get some fair old wind chill in the Winter .
  Just be cautious if yours had a certificate of importation still attatched when you purchased it , it may not be used to the vagaries of our climate just yet .
  
  
  

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