Soft Tree Fern the prehistoric plant (Dicksonia antarctica)

Soft tree fern, also known as Man fern, originally comes from the tropical and subtropical areas of Australia and the neighboring island of Tasmania. There, these rustic prehistoric plants grow in mountain forests near the coast, which remain constantly moist due to downhill rain.

Even if the botanical name Dicksonia antarctica gives hope for winter hardiness, the tree fern still needs to be protected in winter. The trunk of a fully grown tree fern can withstand temperatures of up to -10 degrees without frost damage. Frost protection must therefore take place.

This plant is not a palm tree, but rather a very archaic pot plant. Because tree ferns are among the dinosaurs of the plant world: together with the extinct giants, they dominated the primeval forests in the Triassic and Jurassic geological eras. The oldest fossil finds of tree ferns date back to 144 million years ago. In this respect, it is no surprise that tree ferns are among the less developed plants, but are still very decorative and exciting.

Since tree ferns were exported from there to England early on as exotic ornamental plants, but unfortunately grow slowly, there was significant overexploitation. This is now being prevented by protective measures that are intended to preserve the population in Australia. Plant rental takes place after pruning, when the plants sprout again. The trunk height is 100cm, larger specimens are also available on request.