tree fern


Hi

I have 1ft tree fern, do I need to bring it in for the winter.

I live in Bristol UK
Thanks
DAVE
http://djmp.co.uk/

"Dave" wrote in message
...
tree fern


Hi

I have 1ft tree fern, do I need to bring it in for the winter.

I live in Bristol UK
Thanks
DAVE
http://djmp.co.uk/

I would bring it in, i have a 5ft ish treefern which is housed in a
greenhouse all the time.It has put out more new fronds.So i can carry on
enjoying it.Obviously if space in limited then most large treeferns are
planted in the garden where they can be wrapped up for winter .The choice is
yours.
Thanks Keith

On 9/9/07 18:29, in article ,
"Dave" wrote:

tree fern


Hi

I have 1ft tree fern, do I need to bring it in for the winter.

I live in Bristol UK
Thanks
DAVE
http://djmp.co.uk/



Does your garden get very frosted? That's what you have to think about and
really, only you know the answer. If the answer is "very little" and not
for long, you probably don't need to worry. Ours have been down to -5 but
usually only overnight and only a few times. It's not constant here. But
if the answer is yes, it's frosty and for long periods, then gather the
fronds together, tie string around them and tie some horticultural fleece
around that which covers the trunk below the crown. If you want to be extra
careful take it indoors but I doubt that's necessary.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

"Dave" wrote in message
...
tree fern


Hi

I have 1ft tree fern, do I need to bring it in for the winter.

I live in Bristol UK
Thanks
DAVE
http://djmp.co.uk/
My tree fern now has about 8 inches of "trunk" and the crown spreads across
about 4 ft. I bought it as a baby at Loch Fyne 7 or 8 years ago, and it has
never spend a winter indoors. I keep it in a walled (court)yard, only about
50 yards from the sea (at high tide). I keep any lower fronds I cut off as
they turn brown, and lightly scrunch them into the crown as the weather
starts to turn.

Duncan

On 9/9/07 22:53, in article ,
"Duncan" wrote:


"Dave" wrote in message
...
tree fern


Hi

I have 1ft tree fern, do I need to bring it in for the winter.

I live in Bristol UK
Thanks
DAVE
http://djmp.co.uk/
My tree fern now has about 8 inches of "trunk" and the crown spreads across
about 4 ft. I bought it as a baby at Loch Fyne 7 or 8 years ago, and it has
never spend a winter indoors. I keep it in a walled (court)yard, only about
50 yards from the sea (at high tide). I keep any lower fronds I cut off as
they turn brown, and lightly scrunch them into the crown as the weather
starts to turn.

Duncan


It depends where you live but that close to the sea you're unlikely to get
frost, so that information may not help someone in Bristol. But bending the
dead fronds into the crown is certainly helpful as a frost protector. In
most areas, proximity to the sea makes a lot of difference to what can be
grown outdoors and what can't. We sold a Thunbergia gregorii to the NT
property Coleton Fishacre near Salcombe and their only complaint about it,
as it reached chimney height, was that it stopped flowering in February.
;-)

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

In reply to Dave ) who wrote this in
, I, Marvo, say :

tree fern


Hi

I have 1ft tree fern, do I need to bring it in for the winter.

I live in Bristol UK
Thanks
DAVE
http://djmp.co.uk/

Mine is about 1'6", three years since bought (and was about 1' then). I
suspect that, had I brought it in, it would now be much bigger.

I put it in amongst some weeds by a tree during winter to give it shelter.
In summer it goes in a shady place but still gets some sun.

I am not best pleased with it, although I wonder, if I take it in, will it
become less hardy?

I will probably never know.

On 9 Sep, 22:39, Sacha wrote:
"Dave" wrote:
tree fern
Hi
I have 1ft tree fern, do I need to bring it in for the winter.
I live in Bristol UK

Does your garden get very frosted? That's what you have to think about and
really, only you know the answer. If the answer is "very little" and not
for long, you probably don't need to worry. Ours have been down to -5 but
usually only overnight and only a few times. It's not constant here. But
if the answer is yes, it's frosty and for long periods, then gather the
fronds together, tie string around them and tie some horticultural fleece
around that which covers the trunk below the crown. If you want to be extra
careful take it indoors but I doubt that's necessary.

Yes, just like Oleanders, if worried just bring indoors - two years
are never the same. My neighbour brings her tree fern onto soil in her
garden (from a stone platform) in case of severe frost, and place it
amongst evergreens with a wall on the side for protection. If the
forecast is that bad, wrap it up.

It depends what kind it is and what situation you have it in. Unfortunately Mark Longley's website http://www.thefernhouse.moonfruit.com/ which used to explains all you need to know about growing tree ferns in Britain, doesn't have that bit any more, probably because he's moved to New Zealand.

One crucial factor is precisely what species have you got. If you have a Dicksonia antarctica, D. fibrosa, D. sellowana, Cyathea australis, or C. smithii, then they are really quite hardy and can survive out of doors, even in the ground, indeed better in the ground, in many places in Britain, provided they well watered, not waterlogged, and the growing tip isn't killed. (Though unfortunately most of what is sold as C. australis is really C. cooperi, which isn't so hardy; also D sellowana in cultivation is almost as rare as rockinghorse shit).

These conditions are available in the milder parts of Britain, especially inside urban heat islands in the south and west of the country. Tree ferns growing out of doors are common in places like London, Portsmouth, Cardiff, etc. Having overhead shade, to reduce radiational frost on clear nights, is a valuable assistance in keeping them alive in many locations, though in fact Longley's former garden in Southampton where he had all of the above did not have that shade. In fact the main problem with keeping some of them alive in Britain, especially the hardiest Cyatheas, is that it gets too hot and dry in the summer, though they would have loved it this year.

The ones surviving out of doors in britain are mostly D Antarctica, since DA is one of the most frost hardy (but not the most, contrary to what most garden centres say) but also, and this is the crucially important thing for Britain, the most drought hardy of the above five. It also survives being transported barerooted, indeed having its below-ground parts roots cut off, unlike any of the others, which has been a factor encouraging its transport. But it is a lot, lot slower growing than the other times, increasing its trunk at about an inch a year, whereas other types can produce a serious sized trunk within a decade. It seems likely that you can give them suitable conditions in Bristol, if you are in the urban heat island and not high up some hill or in a frost pocket.

Curiously, the thing that does sometimes kill them in a pot in winter is drought, if the pot gets frozen on the top and can't transport water. If the pot is frozen or blocked at the base, waterlogging is also a possible winter problem if the pot can't drain. Sometimes the winter protection they are sometimes given, eg wrapping the whole plant, can also kill them, because they can't breathe. Get condensation inside, goes rotten.

They will not survive if the growing tip is killed, so it is common to make doubly sure by protect that, eg, by putting some straw in the crown. Though this needs checking to make sure it doesn't get waterlogged, may need changing. A small plant in a small pot also risks getting frozen through.

But given that it is in a pot, and it is fairly small and you can move it, why take the risk? But if you haven't got a suitable indoor location there are often good places outside you can move a pot to. Right against a wall gives a lot of protection, reduces the amount of sky visible to reduce radiational frost, head stored in the wall in the day given out at night, some heat loss from inside the building also. For example, I have a Protea cynaroides in a large pot, which is only rated down to -5C. I have kept it outside through several winters, in the Chilterns, without fleece, despite several frosts rated down to -7C. How? By moving the pot hard up against my patio doors during the at risk period, roughly November to April.

Thanks eveyone

I will bring it in


regards
DAVE