Tree fern trunks?

[charlie]

Discussion on another forum about letting stuff grow on your Dicksonia trunks, what do we think? I am as you can see by these pictures of mine a fan of letting ferns grow on mine (lets me know if its starting to get dry!)

002 by charliepridham, on Flickr

001 by charliepridham, on Flickr

If you don't allow this, how do you stop it?

[Mark]

I like that look Charlie. Makes them more natural looking. I hate the sight of brand spanking new ferns just planted out with very little top growth , they look so false. I don't keep mine damp enough to encourage baby ferns and moss to grow on them. All I can muster up is a Bromeliad potted into a coconut shell that is nailed into a dead trunk :oops: I suppose the only way of stopping things growing on it is to keep the trunk dry...seems to work here for me :D

[charlie]

Not sure it is in any way related but I seem to have kept the old fronds better by keeping the whole trunk wet all the time, its certainly growing fast (well for a Dicksonia that is !)

[DaveP]

I've had Billbergia nutans and Humata (Davallia) tyermannii growing on mine for the past 5 years or so. The Humata weaves its 'rabbit's foot' rhizomes through and over the old frond bases and appears perfectly at home. Billbergia clumps reasonably well although not with quite the same density as it would in a pot or basket and it's nice to see the soft salmon pink bracts hanging down the trunk in early summer. This is a close-up from a few years ago - it's somewhat denser now :

[charlie]

Looks like I may have to get me some more tree ferns so I can experiment! Looks good Dave

[Mark]

Dave, have you actually planted the Bilbergia into the trunk or is it fixed in some way?

I left a pot of it out on my Trachy a few years back and the frost killed it really quick. Maybe if it was rooted into the trunk it may stand a better chance???

I like the rabbits foot fern too :mrgreen:

[DaveP]

Mark
I simply pushed a piece of Billbergia into the trunk - conveniently, the shoots have swollen bases and the rhizomes leading up to them are usually quite tough and wiry so they are quite easy to push into the root fibres of the fern. I packed a small amount of sphagnum moss around it and held that in place with a few home made wire staples. In no time the Dicksonia sent its roots into the moss, which ensured the Billbergia was held securely. The Humata was 'planted' as a branched piece of bare rhizome (leaves removed) and held in place with a few staples. It quickly rooted into the trunk and took off from there. This has proved to be a hardy evergreen fern here (even during the 2009/10 winter) and I love the way its glossy, finely dissected leaves arch out from the trunk.

Shortly after planting the Dicksonia about 9 years ago, I discovered a strange pair of small oval leaved growing out from between the old frond bases. There was a familiar reticulation of veins through the leaf blade and a central main vein indicating that it might be a species of orchid. I carefully dug the shoot out with a section of white rhizome and potted it up in sphagnum moss. Within a couple of years it had grown into a decent clump and flowered enabling me to identify it as being Pterostylis pedunculata. This is one of the Australian 'greenhood orchids', which are normally terrestrial, but can occasionally grow as epiphytes or lithophytes. It's not a showy or attractive orchid with small, dull red-flushed, pale green flowers on wiry stems, but fascinating nonetheless. This year I've returned a few pieces to the Dicksonia and hopefully it will eventually re-colonise the trunk.

[charlie]

Those few degrees of respite from cold you get in winter sure make the world of difference don't they Dave :)

[Darran]

I love things growing on the trunks of DA's. I have recently planted one in a client's garden and have pushed tiny ferns into the trunk, as it is newly planted I have encouraged the client to water very liberally and I hope the baby ferns take!

Charlie, Dave :mrgreen: