We haven't had hard frosts and low temperatures yet to brown off the fronds so they're still looking very lush and green when I saw them last weekend. Seeing them so verdant still has made them our favorite plant for this week.
Dicksonia antarctica
Seeing tree ferns in leaf never fails to bring a smile on our faces. However what bought an extra smile was remembering that, yes, they sailed through fire damage too! Defoliated and trunk charred to nothing but chunky poles, lo and behold they flushed again a few weeks later and carried on like nothing happened.
They are a lot tougher than you think! Well a few Aussies did say so as well to us before fresh from the event and they were right.
So how do we usually protect them in the winter? With a ball of frost fleece or landscape fabric on to their crown with a scarf too of the same materials wrapped around their 'necks' for good measure.
This one was damaged by winter 2010/11 and has since only put out very short fronds. When it got scorched we thought that was then end of this as this tree fern was weak already. But it wasn't and it flushed again.
So far this winter, no need to protect them yet. Hopefully we won't have to....We join Loree of Danger Garden for her favorite plant of the week meme!
