It's in the ground!

When last we saw my new tree fern (a Dicksonia antarctica) I was working out exactly where I was going to plant it...

I tackled the planting job on August 15th. Removing the container I was curious to see what the root mass would look like.

Wow, it had definitely been in that pot for awhile.

I cut a slice off the bottom, about an inch, inch and a half thick.

Sometimes when you cut away the roots at the bottom of container the soil just falls away, because the roots were only circling at the edge of the container and not growing in the center. I was glad to see that was not the case here...

So which of the potential spots did I decide to plant in? The one I'd always thought would be a great location. The one I abandoned earlier in the spring when I decided not to plant out my oldest tree fern (I wrote about that in the middle of this post). 

X marks the spot...

Of course my biggest concern was Clifford's roots. You can see in the photo above that I was planning to dig a good size hole just 5-6 feet away from the Magnolia macrophylla trunk. 

Tying up the tall Adiantum pedatum fronds at the back of the planting area, next to the garage wall, revealed a bit of empty space.

I started digging. The ground was quite dry, even though I'd been watering the area all week in preparation for planting. I ended up with a hole roughly 14" deep and 13" wide. It doesn't look that big in the photo does it?

As you can see there were lots of roots damaged in the process, thankfully none larger than my index finger. I hope Clifford won't be too upset.

Andrew helped me pick up the tree fern and drop it into place.

Here the Adiantum pedatum fronds were set free...

Then I returned the tall bromeliad to it's pipe pedestal against the garage wall.

Finally it was time to untie the tree fern fronds...

It's interesting what an impact the small Dicksonia antarctica I planted this spring (on the left, with only a 4" trunk) has in these photos. The new plant on the right is a double, twins, with a 12" and 14" trunk, yet the small one isn't being overshadowed.

This is also where I should share that we've named the new twins; Fern.

There's the oldest of my Dicksonia antarctica, around the corner, at the back of the garage, in the metal container. It's put on a lot of new growth this summer, thanks to a brighter spot, some new soil and fertilizer.

I decided not to fertilize Fern, since we're heading into the colder part of the year. I'll wait until spring for that. She has however thrown out a couple of new fronds since being planted in the ground.

I've been talking with local gardening friends with Dicksonia antarctica planted out, ones they've overwintered successfully. I'm thinking on my winter protection strategy so I won't be caught unprepared. Who knows what lies ahead for winter 2026-27?

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