On Sat, 3 Apr 2004 11:29:30 +0100, Bernard Peek
wrote:

In message , Tom C
writes
On Thu, 1 Apr 2004 01:20:49 +0100, Bernard Peek
wrote:


It has a central stalk that has obviously been damaged, and the growing
fronds are sticking out in a circle from its base. I think a healthy
specimen has fronds growing out from the top of the stem. Is there any
way to get this specimen back to full health, or have we wasted the 50p
it cost us?


It sounds like D Squarrosa. You often get "pups" appearing at the
base. I have one and thought I'd lost it through leaving it out one
unusually cold night. However, a new one is now growing from the base,
and throughout the summer, more fronds will appear all round the
deceased trunk.

So try to keep it going.

There doesn't seem to be any signs of life in the trunk. I was wondering
whether it's possible to cut it away, or to grow a new plant by taking
a cutting. Obviously I don't want to risk killing off the original
plant, because I'm unlikely to be able to replace it for 50p.

AIUI, the 'trunk' of a Dicksonia is just dead fibre, the remains of
the roots of previous year's growth. Again AIUI, the top sprouts new
fronds and new roots each year, the latter growing down the outside of
the 'trunk' until they reach the ground. Dicksonias are transported as
'logs' while dormant, and are then 'planted' by just sticking the
'log' in a hole in the ground. But no roots grow from the base, unlike
normal cuttings, for example.

Can't explain the growth from the base though, unless it's upside down
as has already been suggested. When you're dealing with an unplanted
'log', it may not be easy to know which way is up when it's first
planted and before growth starts, especially in a small plant. Dig it
up and look at the base. Can you see the characteristic shepherd's
crooks of unfurling fronds, albeit somewhat distorted from having been
stuck in the ground?

Another possibility is that it's homesick. After all, they do come
from 'down under' :-).


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net