You can lop it off only if its the Dicksonia species. These generally have all the small 'rootlet' running up and down the entire trunk. If it is the Cyathea species you will have to dig the entire thing out and they don't regrow from top cuttings. The Cyathea is recognised from all the frond markings all the way up and down the trunk.
It can be hard if you don't have the 2 species to compare, so check out these species on google so you know what you are looking for.
Cheers, Wallaby

"Dragon" wrote in message ...
Hi all
I have a fairly large tree fern (not sure what sort, it was there when I
bought the house) growing in the ground, which has outgrown its position
(it's overhanging/blocking a path etc).

Can these plants be moved fairly easily? And how should it be done? Have had
a couple of well-meaning neighbours say that I can either dig the whole
thing out, or I can cut the trunk near ground level and replant it
elsewhere. As it's such a nice healthy plant, I don't want to do anything
before I get some informed advice.
Thanks
MG