huporhaha wrote:Mine have a belt and braces job -stakes put in the soil all round the trunk and chicken wire put round them. I stuff straw all round that and the chicken wire keeps it in place all round the trunk. More straw on top plus dry fern leaves. then a bit more straw and the while lot is covered and wrapped in fleece.........and tied down with tent pegs as the wind can get rather strong in these regions.........
Dare I dig one up when we move?
Yes but you live north of the arctic circle....
Dig the lot up, bring as much with you as you can, the new owners won't look after them, they'll be dead the next spring after you are gone.
If anyone's interested ill put one of my wireless temp sensors near the crown of the Dicksonia antarctica inside the cage, and see how the cocoon temps hold up versus main garden? Will be interesting once we drop to minus 8 etc and see how long the temps take to fall inside and if they eventually match outside.
This method has worked fine for us down to about -12. It's not so much about just temperature but reducing the wet in the crown which combined with temperature then does a lot more damage. Dry cold and wet cold have very different outcomes. So that's why we wrap his way as its effective, quick and doesn't look too much of an eyesore.
saw a couple of very nice Dicksonias at my local B & Q on Sunday. The tallest at 42 inches and reduced from £115 to 49.99. I was very tempted but I know people who have lost these and I wouldn't want to spend £50 on a plant that may not survivie its first winter in my care. Is there a tried and tested method of protection which is reliable in the north of the UK? Anyone who got plants through 2010/11 winter will be fairly sure of keeping theirs alive.
I have to admit I've never been confident or convinced enough to purchase one. The shady spot I have is quite exposed to the west and gets the prevailng wind which may not be ideal for tree ferns but it would look good in place of a large holly "lollipop" currently residing there. It would need to spend this winter in my garage....but would it survive future winters outside?
JoelR wrote:saw a couple of very nice Dicksonias at my local B & Q on Sunday. The tallest at 42 inches and reduced from £115 to 49.99. I was very tempted but I know people who have lost these and I wouldn't want to spend £50 on a plant that may not survivie its first winter in my care. Is there a tried and tested method of protection which is reliable in the north of the UK? Anyone who got plants through 2010/11 winter will be fairly sure of keeping theirs alive.
I have to admit I've never been confident or convinced enough to purchase one. The shady spot I have is quite exposed to the west and gets the prevailng wind which may not be ideal for tree ferns but it would look good in place of a large holly "lollipop" currently residing there. It would need to spend this winter in my garage....but would it survive future winters outside?
See my link on page one mumfie further up north used this with success in 2009 and 2010.
Its not the sudden drops to minus 12 etc. More the prolonged frozen spells with no daytime thaw.
JoelR wrote:saw a couple of very nice Dicksonias at my local B & Q on Sunday. The tallest at 42 inches and reduced from £115 to 49.99. I was very tempted but I know people who have lost these and I wouldn't want to spend £50 on a plant that may not survivie its first winter in my care. Is there a tried and tested method of protection which is reliable in the north of the UK? Anyone who got plants through 2010/11 winter will be fairly sure of keeping theirs alive.
I have to admit I've never been confident or convinced enough to purchase one. The shady spot I have is quite exposed to the west and gets the prevailng wind which may not be ideal for tree ferns but it would look good in place of a large holly "lollipop" currently residing there. It would need to spend this winter in my garage....but would it survive future winters outside?
Tis the season to haggle with the garden centre/diy managers.You want 50 Ive got 35.If youve got a garage stick in there when it gets really cold. Mine are wrapped in fleece but when -8c s and below is forecast they go in the garage.
huporhaha wrote:Mine have a belt and braces job -stakes put in the soil all round the trunk and chicken wire put round them. I stuff straw all round that and the chicken wire keeps it in place all round the trunk. More straw on top plus dry fern leaves. then a bit more straw and the while lot is covered and wrapped in fleece.........and tied down with tent pegs as the wind can get rather strong in these regions.........
Dare I dig one up when we move?
Take them all or sell them. They may not get looked after otherwise .
Dicksonia antarctica are ok to around -5 so adding 2c of protection means -7c will be ok.
For anything lower than that you're going to need a heat source such as a ropelight or bottles of hot water, the insulation will only retain the heat. Building a well insulated wigman structure using blankets, duvets, thermal blankets, foil etc will enable extra capture and retention of ground heat.
Having experienced -10C or below every winter for the last four its not the low temps say down to -10c ish its the prolonged subzeros that will kill your tree ferns . Your average very cold winters night shouldn't get the time to freeze a treefern due to the rebound in daylight hours but if the daytime doesnt get above freezing your in trouble no matter how you wrap unless you add heat. You also cant trust a method that works for someone else because 1) they might have a diferent microclimate 2) the fern itself might be hardier. You have to learn your own locality and decide what risk you are willing to take if it goes sub zero for days.
Most wanted list - Any Young Trachycarpus and/or fern.
I'm so grateful of our climate down here in Essex. I have only ever lost 1 very small Tree Fern. My ferns receive a handful of straw in their crowns and that's about it. If it starts to snow, a sheet is thrown over them and removed as soon as the snow shower stops, and this helps keep the fronds green(ish) all winter long. All 4 of my Dicksonia have some 2 year old leaves now. In fact my smallest has three layers of fronds.
JoelR wrote:Words of wisdom Tom. have you lost tree ferns in recent winters? Did any survive? East Yorks can be pretty brutal.
Sadly I lost five well established Dicksonia Antarctica after December 10. Two survived. ..just and after a year have bounced back well. All were wrapped in every conceivable thing I had but it was sub zero for two weeks solid. I was very naive thrn though as I didnt think that sort of weather was eveb possible here. Prior to 08 we hardly had an air frost let alone lots of snow. Since then its been severe at some point every winter.
I currently have one two foot Antarctica in the ground but will only wrap if severe cold is coming. Some excellent protection metgods on here but what works in someone's garden might not work for you. For example just the thickness of a trunk will most like ly improve protection. So many variables and has been said unless your in costa darn sarf (and even maybe not there) tree ferns are always at risk.
Most wanted list - Any Young Trachycarpus and/or fern.
Todds Boanics
