Hi,
Have some friends that have grown Dicksonia antartica here in Seminole county. I haven't gotten that adventurous yet, but really admire them. Best of luck in your tree fern hunt.

Hi
Seems the Australian varieties was most cold /heat tolerant Have recently noted small ones atHD for under 5 bucks . With shade constant moisture they grow quite rapidly anyway. Certainly can't lose much?? lol
gary

Wallisadi, those are very impressive! The spot I have is under the canopy of a laurel oak, so should get nice dappled light. Yours looks like a Cyathea cooperi, thanks for the great info on how much cold protection it needs. I had been wondering about that.

Morningglory, the antartica is supposed to be more cold tolerant than cooperi, but it sounded in my reading like they don't like hot climates. How are your friends' specimens do in summer?

Gary, how fast do they grow? Do they grow fast when young then slow down? Or do they grow steadily regardless of age? I am considering the trade off of buying a bigger plant to start, or getting a small one.

Thanks all for the great input!

Ironically, it was cold that affected the tree fern, an unusually cold season, I think they got home late or were out of town and did not protect the tree fern. I remember being surprised that this particular plant grows in this area and I was told that "antartica" was supposed to be a little more tolerant of the cold. The winters of '09 and 10 did in alot of croutons, banana trees, and elephant ears in around here. Hopefully we won't experience winters like those for awhile. Plants that are marginally hardy as long as the winters are average should do well if they receive protection on a few of the colder nights.

Cyathea cooperi, Australian Tree fern is about the only one you will find in local nurseries. It grows well here. Likes shade and moist soil, they don't have much drought tolerance. You might come across Dicksonia anarctica, Tasmanian Tree Fern. It is much slower growing and can be tricky here. They also like shade but bright shade. Also moist soil and good air circulation.

A few others we are growing that do well here are C. australis, C. brownii, and C. princeps.

Morninggloree, thanks so much for the great info. Very useful to know that antartica is not hardy enough to make it through the worst case winters here unprotected.

Eric, thanks for the great information. I only have room for one, and like the look of c. cooperi. My only concern about it was cold tolerance. But I would rather cold protect than have a tricky to grow plant like you indicate antartica to be. Do you think any of the other varieties you mention are easy enough to grow and have significantly better cold tolerance than c. cooperi to make it worthwhile to seek one out? If not, I think I will go with cooperi.

Thanks so much for all the help!

Hi
The 5 buck one i got at HD (no name of course ) grew from under 6 inches to over 4 feet both ways since Nov...
has not formed a trunk as yet. . My canopy has filled out since Jeanne and Wilma so decided to form a fern bed between the palms and Cassia . I'm keeping them all in pots so I can rearrange as necessary. In a weak moment i bought an "elephant fern" now I find they get fronds 15/20 feet long and thery dont even have a trunk lol.
What was I thinking ?? lol gary

Thanks Gary. I looked up elephant fern, no idea where you'll put it, but if you have the room they look spectacular! I'm replacing a Pygmy date palm that is doing badly because it is getting too much shade. Plan to put a tree fern, under planted with white caladiums. Hoping for a nice bold statement for my front entry way.

Gary, where did you buy your elephant fern? I think I asked you this question before, but can't remember what you told me.

That is a beautiful tree fern!! I will have to look a our H.D. for one. I saw some last year but they were over 2 ft so I doubt they were the 5.oo ones lol. Do you think this could be kept in a pot for a few years? I will be moving further south but it will probably be going in the gh next winter at least.

Where can I get couple of them