How to start off a 7-footer?

fern Rob

Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by fern Rob »

Spray the rest of the Dicksonia antarctica Trunks with water as the new forming roots may only be a quarter of the way down the trunk, you don't want the new root tips to dry out.
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karl66
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Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by karl66 »

Think of the stress the log's at the bottom of the transport crate's are under :lol: , i bet they'd like to soaked in a nice bath :wink: . karl.
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Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by Dave Brown »

Need Radox Kristen :lol:

I'd go along with spraying the trunk from close range so as not to get it everywhere, also you could add a drip or two of Maxicrop seaweed extract to the bucket of water :)
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fern Rob

Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by fern Rob »

Is maxi crop something that can be applied to rooted tree ferns via the crown,why i ask is I have always used high nitrogen, phostogen, and seaweed feed that is expensive. If the maxi crop can be used in the same way as the seaweed feed then I shall get some ordered :lol:.
Kristen

Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by Kristen »

Dave Brown wrote:Need Radox Kristen :lol:
I'll suggest Mrs K gets in after the Tree Fern to "save water" ... :lol:
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Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by Dave Brown »

fern Rob wrote:Is maxi crop something that can be applied to rooted tree ferns via the crown,why i ask is I have always used high nitrogen, phostogen, and seaweed feed that is expensive. If the maxi crop can be used in the same way as the seaweed feed then I shall get some ordered :lol:.
It can be used on foliage as a spray, or added to the water and any feed. It was about £8 per litre, but I got 10 litres off ebay last year for £45.
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Kristen

Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by Kristen »

Plan C

They've been in the bath for 4 hours each. Its not enough - the angle in the bath means that only a couple of feet is wet, there is a diagonal tide mark along the trunk, and I roll them over after a couple of hour ... only the foot is getting wet (maybe that's enough).

I've realised that I have two water butts left over from being replaced with much larger ones. I'm going to lay the tree ferns down, put a water butt over the bottom, stand then ensemble up, and fill the butt.

How long should I leave them steeped in water?

Then I'll drain the butt and when I then water the trunk, copiously, the butt can catch the overflow rather than it flooding the conservatory.

How long to do that before I "pot" them in some compost so the roots will have somewhere to grow?
dorothy

Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by dorothy »

When I got mine I soaked them outside then potted them up and brought into the conservatory which was heated. I started panicking that they may dry out, so turned the heating off a couple of weeks ago. Since then I have poured about 1.5litres of water into each crown every other day and also sprayed the trunk, again every other day. The temps in the conservatory is quite low because we are not getting any sun.If the weather warms up in there, I will do every day. Everything seems ok because all three have started unfurling. I put the pots onto a tray to catch the excess water as well. :)
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Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by Dave Brown »

Kristen wrote:Plan C

I've realised that I have two water butts left over from being replaced with much larger ones. I'm going to lay the tree ferns down, put a water butt over the bottom, stand then ensemble up, and fill the butt.

How long should I leave them steeped in water? Several Days I would have thought, if really dry

Then I'll drain the butt and when I then water the trunk, copiously, the butt can catch the overflow rather than it flooding the conservatory.

How long to do that before I "pot" them in some compost so the roots will have somewhere to grow?
I'd pot them sooner, rather than later, to take advantage of the warmth in your conservatory, if we get some sun..
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Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by Kristen »

I'm going with 3 days of "steeping" and then I will pot, but keep them in the water butts so that any watering of the trunk is contained rather than soaking the floor and adding to the humidity in the conservatory. Hopefully I can drain any excess water out of the butt's tap.

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bordersboy

Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by bordersboy »

Hope youve got a good supply of spinach in cos these are going to weigh a tonne. icon_bounce
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Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by Dave Brown »

Try wrapping in cling film Kristen. It keeps the trunk moist and won't raise the humidity in the conservatory :)
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Kristen

Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by Kristen »

I'll have a go with cling film, thanks for that Dave.

Yesterday they came out of "steeping" and I will pot them over the weekend.

Now starting to worry about getting them in & out of conservatory for hardening-off. I don't need to do that until the fronds have appeared, which may be a while as yet? but if that happens within 4 - 6 weeks there will still be chilly nights until mid May or later even. (I want to both keep them going at full speed this first year, and also to harden them off)

Each time I move (going to need a sack barrow) them out of the conservatory the trunk is going to wiggle in the pot and disturb any roots that are forming :(

I will move them to just outside the conservatory, which is sheltered by the house, but I was hoping to be able to bring them back in for chilly nights to keep them moving through April.

I will then have to move them again to their planting position, which will disturb the roots again, although if all the compost shakes off the roots during the planting process, but if the roots are not very developed hopefully they will not be damaged?

Once planted I'm going to tie them to a sturdy post, which I will cut off at ground level in a year or two's time.
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Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by Dave Brown »

They are unlikely to burst into life quickly Kristen, as by all accounts that will have had a pretty tough life since they were last growing.

To stop the trunk moving around the pot, do the same as they do with palms. Cut wooden batons to length with 2 across the pot either side of the trunk and 2 at 90 degrees either side of the trunk. Like a straightened up hash sign # Screw them together at the point they cross It stops the trunk moving towards the edge of the pot in any direction :wink:
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Kristen

Re: How to start off a 7-footer?

Post by Kristen »

Dave Brown wrote:They are unlikely to burst into life quickly Kristen, as by all accounts that will have had a pretty tough life since they were last growing.
Perfect, so I can kick start them without trying to manhandle a 7-foot log with 6-foot of "bad hair" in and out of the conservatory door! Kick-start is all I really want so that they get the longest possible growing season in their first year.
To stop the trunk moving around the pot, do the same as they do with palms. Cut wooden batons to length with 2 across the pot either side of the trunk and 2 at 90 degrees either side of the trunk. Like a straightened up hash sign # Screw them together at the point they cross It stops the trunk moving towards the edge of the pot in any direction :wink:
Cracking advice as always Dave, many thanks. I've seen those hash-signs in wood on pots and had never really thought about their benefit.
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