DaveDay34 wrote:

Considering the relatively minimal amount of development going on in NZ I
find it incredible that Larry's pursuing this point. There's a lot more
damage being done in the rain forrests of South America. I would have
thought if anything was going to upset anyone, it would have been the
wholesale destruction of hundreds of thousands of acres of rainforest, not
the relatively small number of tree ferns being relocated from NZ to other
parts of the world.

I understand Larry being concerned about the environment, and I think
we've all heard what he has to say, but this is a UK based gardening
newsgroup, not a newsgroup for environmental campaigners. This issue
involves the NZ government and can only be changed there, not within the
UK. Maybe this thread could be wound up now?

Dave.

Not sure where I said I wasn't concerned about destruction of rain
forests (South American and elsewhere). Indeed, I would urge anybody
considering buying currently trendy hardwood garden furniture to at
least check that it originates from a managed and sustainable source.

Although, I read a while back that almost no tropical hardwood has such
origins, despite certification to the contrary. Widespread corruption in
Indonesia, for example, makes most such certification worthless. English
oak or beech - from a properly managed woodland - is a much better
choice.

I am also concerned about gardeners persistent use of peat, extracted
from lowland English peat bogs - definitely not sustainable. And sorry,
from personal experience, I simply do not believe that there are not
acceptable substitutes. Possibly not as good but still very effective.

The whole point of my argument is precisely that consumer choices in the
UK do have an influence on what happens in other parts of the world. And
that includes what gardeners buy for their gardens. Almost every
gardening programme is now promoting tree ferns for their architectural
qualities (hence my view that they are a "fashionable" plant). And while
I quite appreciate that not buying tree ferns, in itself, won't stop
their destruction, every little will help.

Especially if they can be grown from spores easily, as somebody has
commented.

And if you aren't interested in reading my views, nobody is actually
forcing you to so do.
--
Larry Stoter