Hardy Tropicals UK

Hi Folks, Ive recently joined the site and im finding all the info here very fascinating. Forgive me if this has been covered before but here is something (as a seller of Dicksonia antarctica) that I have been doing for a while and find it very successful for 'rejuvenating' dead mature trunks. Find someone who sells small Dicksonia antarctica, im talking something in a 2-3 litre pot with no trunk and fronds about 12-18 inches. Make a basket from 1/2" chicken wire and fix it to the top of your dead trunk, plant the 'new fern' in this basket using sphagnum peat, water well and you will find that within a season, this 'new' top will root down the old 'dead' trunk, I learned this several years ago when a batch of Dicksonia antarctica I'd purchased from Victoria Aus. had become chilled and died on the way over when the container they were travelling malfunctioned. You should be able to purchase a suitable young Dicksonia antarctica quite cheaply (mine I sell for about £4-50) I know some may think this is 'cheating' but it is a good way of replacing what after all is a valuable plant
Lannerman.

I've seen threads over the internet where people have tried this and after a year or so the new tree fern struggles to push out decent fronds. Can you put up some picture please as I would love to give this a try IF it really do work as I have numerous dead Dicksonia antarctica trunks in my garden

This subject has been mentioned loads in the past but didn't think anyone had done it successfully

See here

http://www.growingontheedge.net/viewtop ... f=2&t=5895