Hardy Tropicals UK

Hello everyone

I have just got into the Cyathea range. Heard a lot of mixed reviews on growing them in the UK, I live in yorkshire so a bit more of a challenge but I like a challenge. My biggest concern is the fact everything I read about Cyathea Australis and Cooperi is that they generally get sold wrongly or labelled as Australis rather than Cooperi. So my question is, how can you tell which one is which or whether I have in fact bought two of the same plants thinking they were different.

I bought my Australis from - https://www.trevenacross.co.uk/product/ ... australis/

and the Cooperi from - https://www.thebotanico.com/store/p301/ ... operi.html

The Cooperi is so tiny and came in a 9cm pot that if someone does find that they are the same. Then can someone show me a site that has what I am looking for, the other plant which I assume is the Australia is huge! but not formed a trunk yet

thanks and I hope somebody can help me out

I have found C cooperi to be easy with winter protection but dies as soon as you forget! (and I am in Cornwall so warmer than you) Following advice from the late Steve Pope If you over pot them they grow much better, gentle feeding as well helps, my cooperi went from a tiny thumb size plant to 4' of trunk and a 10' wingspan in just 4 years however thats what killed it, it got too big to easily protect and the cold weather last spring did for it. never mind I have several more coming along !

Hi CharlieP

Thanks for getting back to me. They do say that it grows quickly but wow that is quick! I have already re-potted it into a bigger pot and spray it daily with water and tree fern fertiliser. Where do you get yours from? Also what are the tell tale signs of difference between the C Cooperi and C Australis as apparently they get marked up wrong for some reason so I want to make sure I have what was sold to me

HI Ceso sorry dont know anything about Cyathea but welcome to the forum

ceso123 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 30, 2019 7:22 am So my question is, how can you tell which one is which or whether I have in fact bought two of the same plants thinking they were different.

There was and probably still is , a lot of misselling of australis / cooperi. Same with people selling Brownii even though they're cooperi.
As for distinquishing cooperi and australis, its very easy. Australis (aka The Rough Tree Fern) is very rough and warty at the bottom of the stipe, even as a young plant.

ceso123 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 30, 2019 7:55 pm Where do you get yours from? Also what are the tell tale signs of difference between the C Cooperi and C Australis as apparently they get marked up wrong for some reason so I want to make sure I have what was sold to me

I pick up the Cyathia cooperi on Madeira, they have become naturalized in the national parks but the rangers often pull up the small ones and dump them to try and slow their spread so you can just pick them up, not sure what the deal will be in future but up to now you have been able to bring live plants back from European destinations. Arlon has I think shown the difference but I have never had any other Cyathia just the cooperi

Ill have a better look at my Australis as that is the biggest of the two plants but hasnt formed a trunk yet so i can only tell from the fronds itself. But the fronds on the Bigger plants are extremely hairy so i would assume that yes it probably is an australis. the cooperi is so small i really can distinguish if it could be a cooperi or not. i didnt want such a small plant but ive heard they grow very quickly so shouldnt worry too much it will probs grow massively this coming spring. ive heard they have become a pest in hawaii. because they grow so quickly and spread so quickly.

ceso123 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 31, 2019 7:17 pmBut the fronds on the Bigger plants are extremely hairy so I would assume that yes it probably is an australis.

I don't think that is right. Cooperi is furry and australis is roughly warty on the stipes [as Arlon has shown].

Good pictures of both [and almost any information you could want on potentially cold hardy tree ferns] can be found here.

Chad.