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Dicksonia antarctica is from Australia where it regularly faces cool and cold conditions, this extraordinary and ancient hardy tree fern is perfect for the shaded garden or terrace. The trunk itself is slow to gain height, just one inch per year, but the new fronds, produced annually, grow several inches per day! It requires cool, moist conditions out of the sun, and an adequate supply of water. The trunk is actually a bundle of roots and this should be watered daily in dry weather for maximum growth. The centre of the crown forms a well which can be filled from a hose and allowed to overflow and run down the trunk. It is extremely hardy, down, it is said, to -18C but in frost the fronds are sometimes lost, only to re-grow in the spring. A ball of hay, thrust down into the crown in December will keep the frost off the nascent fronds. Tree ferns be fed regularly with fertilizer to achieve maximum growth.
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