Pruning tree ferns isn’t a very difficult task. All you need to do is to take the right equipment and get ready to make your fern even lovelier. There are different varieties of ferns and whichever one you choose the pruning process will be exactly the same.
The most common variety that you find in gardens is the Dicksonia Antarctica. It is a type of a soft tree fern. This type is also easy to grow and it is quite affordable if you want to have more than one ferns in your garden.
Below we are going to give tips on how to grow ferns in pots, how to protect your ferns during the winter when there will be frost and low temperatures and finally pruning your tree ferns will be the topic which we’ll give you tips. Follow them and your tree fern will survive through the winter time and the frosts.
Growing Tree Ferns in Pots
You can plant tree ferns in pots if you want to have them in your house, and your greenhouse too. When you’ll keep it in a pot, make sure that the pot will be quite spacious. You need to place it in a bright place and also it needs to be a bit humid.
You should never leave the soil in the pot to dry out. The tree ferns that are smaller than 30cm don’t do well in cold weather and it is preferable to keep them in pots. Apart from the soil, you could also add compost and 20% peat-free potting media if you want to add more humidity in the plant.
Once a week during the springtime you could add liquid fertilizer at the base of the plant. Always read the instructions in order to have the right amount of fertilizer. If you do keep the pot indoor you should always check the temperature which shouldn’t be more than 32°C.
How to Protect Tree Ferns in Winter
Tree fern is an exotic plant that you need to take really good care of it during the winter. You should protect the top of the trunk because if it freezes the fern will die. You should follow the following tips so as to protect it.
First of all, you need to place a straw in the crown of the fern. Do it smoothly. Then gather the leaves and tie them up around the crown. When you finish tying them up then you need to wrap the fern with a frost protection fleece.
The layers that you will wrap the fern depends on how protected you want it to be. This means that you can use many layers of fleece in order for the plant to remain protected. Once you finish with the fleece you should tie it with twine.
You can keep it like this until the end of March. When the spring comes and the frost has subsided release the fern from the fleece and everything will be back to normal again and you fern will be healthy.
Pruning Tree Ferns
Pruning tree ferns play an important role in the health of your plant. In order to start the pruning of your tree ferns, you’ll need to have the following equipment. You will need to have groves, a hat, a long-sleeved shirt, eye protection, hand pruners, and extension pole pruners. You could also use a saw if you feel more comfortable handling it.
Some of the ferns will drop the old foliage that they have. Other ferns will drop the foliage and it will look like a skirt. They will do that because this skirt is insulation for hot and cold weather. You can either let them or pick them up to clear the garden.
You should have a look at your tree fern before you prune it. Pruning your tree ferns should be done when you notice that there are yellow fronts, fronts that are broken, diseased fronts, and of course dead fronts. Pruning tree ferns should be done immediately if you notice fronts that are like this.
Due to the fact that pruning your tree ferns might cause skin irritation, you should wear your eye protection, your shirt, and your gloves. The trunk of the tree fern has hair and scales at the fronds and the stem trunk and when they’ll be in touch with your skin you’ll end up with red marks in your skin and you don’t want that to happen.
What you need to do after that is to remove the dead fronds. Remove them with one move. Use the hand pruner blades from 2 to 4 inches above. Use it where the frond stem attaches the crown of the growing tip. Be careful because you don’t want to harm any frond stems that start to emerge there.
Remove the piece of frond with your hand and pull it away from the crown. You can use a ladder in order to reach the fronds that are quite far. Pruning your tree ferns you’ll need the extension pole, in case you don’t want to use the ladder.
Pruning your tree ferns will include pruning the fronds that are about to rot, the ones that are dying, the ones that have changed their color and the ones that have pests on them. Some of the pests that attack the fern are the spider mites and the mealybugs.
Pruning your tree ferns should include cuts of 2 to 4 inches that will be above the base which is connected to the growing crown at the top of the stem. Once you finish pruning your tree ferns check one more time the whole tree in order to see if you have done it properly.
Check if you have pruned the fern evenly and be careful not to over prune the fern. You should start with the pruning of your tree ferns when spring comes and you are sure that there won’t be any more frost. You don’t want to damage the tree.
Our Conclusion:
Pruning tree ferns is a process that requires spending some of your time in order to prune your fern. It isn’t difficult at all from what you saw. You just need to have the right equipment and to devote some of your time in order to do it.
Pruning your tree ferns is exactly the same process whether you keep it in a pot or you plant it in your garden. You need to make sure to keep the fern safe during the winter time. Follow our steps and you will have a healthy tree fern that you’ll be able to enjoy from spring to summer.
