How We Saved and Transplanted Mature Tree Ferns.
When we first set foot at The Lodge, the towering tree ferns greeted us like ancient sentinels, their fronds swaying gently in the mountain breeze. One of the biggest draws to The Lodge was this incredible collection of tree ferns—a lush, enchanting grove right on the property. I was captivated by the idea of owning not just one or two, but an impressive total of 13 mature tree ferns, with a few younger ‘pups’ gradually establishing themselves under their protective shade. It’s a rare and beautiful sight to have so many on one residential block. Sounds Idyllic, but it wasn’t all fun and games. We needed to not only learn how to care for tree ferns, but also how to revive them.
Tree Ferns, in the lush fern garden.
Dicksonia australis unfurling its frond in spring.
The majority of these ferns are Dicksonia antarctica, known for their prehistoric, exotic look. We have one large Cyathea australis, right at our front steps and as tall as the first floor. It’s hard to age tree ferns, but we know it was here long before the house was built. It adds to the charm of the property and anchors the home to the garden, giving it a sense of place and belonging. At some point, a path was built around C. australis, and over time its root mass has enveloped the ageing pine sleeper step—the step needs replacing, as you can see in the photo below. We are working on a plan for that, a challenge as we don’t want to disturb the old specimen.
Cyathea australis standing proud at the front steps of the lodge.
We did have one modest but magnificent Cyathea cunninghamii —until a powerful gust during a storm snapped its thin, elegant trunk clean, 30 cm from the base. Seeing that beauty fallen was a hard and devastating moment, a reminder of how vulnerable even the most established plants can be in nature’s path. For some tree ferns, this would mean replanting the trunk into the ground and letting it re-establish, as most feed and drink from fibres around the top of their trunk where their fronds grow. However, not for cunninghamii, which has a more traditional plant root system, absorbing moisture and nutrients from the soil below. So the trunk snapping was fatal. Now the beautiful, leopard-spotted stem makes for quirky art inside the house.
Fun Fact: Many species of tree ferns, including Dicksonia antarctica, are terrestrial ferns, and the ‘trunk’-like structure is actually a huge enlarged rhizome! This means their trunk is actually a modified root system, which is why you water them from the top of the plant, not from the ground below.
Close up of Fibers on the trunk of a Dicksonia antarctica
When we moved in, the tree ferns were spread all over the garden, some in full sun and looking worse for wear. Some were infested with ivy, while others had suffered through harsh conditions: scorched leaves from the relentless summer sun, and damage from bushfire ash that had rained down on them during the 2019 Black Summer fires. Their resilience showed, but it was clear they needed some TLC if we wanted them to thrive in the years to come.
Three struggling Dicksonia antarctica’s infested with Ivy before we started to work on the lodge garden.
After some planning and research, we decided to transplant many of them to the more sheltered back garden. Moving them was no easy feat—Dicksonia antarctica, especially mature specimens, are incredibly heavy! With some teamwork, care, and very itchy arms from the fibres, we managed to haul them up our sloped garden and settle them into their new positions. Most are now thriving; a couple are doing okay, but all are on the up and up!
Dicksonia australis unfurling its frond.
This time of year feels special in the garden because of the tree ferns. Their fronds start to unfurl, revealing that unmistakable lime-green new growth. It’s such a beautiful sight, one I never tire of. Watching those fronds unfurl slowly over the weeks is a little like witnessing nature wake up. Their bright green colour stands out against the darker, established fronds around them, giving the whole garden a refreshed, renewed feel that hints at the warmer days of summer on the horizon.
Caring for our tree ferns is one of the most important aspects of the Lodge garden efforts. They are a privilege to have in the garden and worth every bit of effort we have put into them..
