{"title":"Ferns and Tree Ferns","description":"\u003cp\u003eDeep shade defeats most flowering plants. The south-facing courtyard, the strip under a deck, the ground beneath an established canopy where nothing has held on: these are the positions ferns are for. Two layers are on offer here. Tree ferns carry height and a canopy of their own in a narrow footprint, which is what makes them feature plants. The smaller ground and epiphytic ferns fill the layer underneath, softening fence lines, retaining walls and pot groupings. Stock runs from 70mm tubes through to 400L, and the soft tree fern is also sold by trunk height, from 20-30 cm up to 150-160 cm, so an established trunk reads as mature on day one. Prices start at $16.95.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor structure, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/dicksonia-antarctica\"\u003eSoft Tree Fern - Dicksonia antarctica\u003c\/a\u003e is the cool-climate option, slow growing, with a thick fibrous trunk that holds water and takes cold better than the others here. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/cyathea-australis\"\u003eTree Fern - Cyathea australis\u003c\/a\u003e has a rougher, darker trunk and copes with more open positions, provided the soil stays damp. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/cyathea-cooperi\"\u003eTree Fern - Cyathea cooperi\u003c\/a\u003e gains trunk height in a few seasons rather than a decade, which suits a warm humid garden that needs cover sooner, though it is frost tender and self-sows into bushland in some districts. For the ground and mounted layer, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/asplenium-australasicum-birds-nest-fern\"\u003eBird's Nest Fern - Asplenium australasicum\u003c\/a\u003e forms a wide glossy rosette for a pot, a courtyard bed or a fork in a tree, and Birds Nest Fern - Asplenium nidus fills the same role in warmer gardens, being the less cold tolerant of the two. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/platycerium-netherlands\"\u003eElkhorn Fern - Platycerium Netherlands\u003c\/a\u003e is grown mounted on a board or trunk rather than planted in soil. \u003ca href=\"\/products\/polystichum-proliferum-fern-mother-shield\"\u003ePolystichum proliferum Fern - Mother Shield\u003c\/a\u003e is the hardy understorey filler. Dwarf Tree Fern - Blechnum gibbum Silver Lady stays compact enough for containers and verandah corners, and Sword Fern - Nephrolepis Boston Blue Bell suits the same spots, though it runs from the base and is best kept in a pot or a contained bed in warm coastal gardens, where it can escape into bushland.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFerns want shelter first, shade second and humidity third. Give them a position screened from wind, soil kept damp and open with leaf litter or a coarse mulch, and filtered light or early morning sun only. Feed lightly, since heavy fertiliser can burn new fronds. What ruins them in Australian gardens is dry wind and direct sun. A hot northerly crisps the fronds brown in an afternoon, and an exposed western wall does the same slowly all summer, which is why a struggling fern is usually in the wrong spot rather than short of feed. The tree fern version is specific. The trunk carries the root mass, so it has to be watered directly, down the trunk and into the crown, not just at the base. A trunk allowed to dry right out stops pushing fronds and rarely recovers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo build out the same shaded beds, see \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/tropical-plants\"\u003etropical plants\u003c\/a\u003e for broadleaf foliage that takes the same conditions, \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/indoor-plants\"\u003eindoor plants\u003c\/a\u003e if the position is a bright bathroom or a covered atrium, and \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/low-maintenance\"\u003elow maintenance\u003c\/a\u003e or \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/shop-all-plants\"\u003eshop all plants\u003c\/a\u003e to compare the wider range. Every order ships farm-direct with flat $99 delivery across QLD, NSW, VIC, SA, ACT and WA, a $399 minimum order, and the 30-Day Healthy Plant Guarantee.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"asplenium-australasicum-birds-nest-fern","title":"Bird's Nest Fern - Asplenium australasicum Birds Nest Fern","description":"\u003cp\u003eNurseries sell several things as bird's nest fern, and this is the Australian one. Turn a frond over: Asplenium australasicum has a sharp raised keel down the back of the midrib with long sori running out at an angle, where the imported A. nidus is rounded underneath. In the bush it grows as an epiphyte in rainforest trees or on rock, which tells you what it wants at home. Shade or filtered light, humidity, air movement, and a coarse open mix rather than heavy potting soil.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe rosette is a funnel by design, catching leaf litter that breaks down and feeds the plant, so leave the debris sitting in there and drop the occasional handful of compost in with it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDirect sun bleaches and scorches the fronds permanently. Watch for scale on the undersides, and for snails, which chew ragged holes in the soft new croziers as they unfurl. Old brown fronds can be cut off flush at the base.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 8 sizes, from 70mm up to 300mm, priced from $16.95 to $119.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64308336296305,"sku":null,"price":23.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"170mm","offer_id":64308336329073,"sku":null,"price":26.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"150mm","offer_id":64308336361841,"sku":null,"price":26.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200mm","offer_id":64308336394609,"sku":null,"price":34.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300mm","offer_id":64308336427377,"sku":null,"price":119.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"125mm","offer_id":64311660511601,"sku":null,"price":24.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"70mm","offer_id":64311660544369,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"100mm","offer_id":64311660577137,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/oQRtYxKtP-UMfKtQe9_sr_GBMwANNQ.jpg?v=1787627182"},{"product_id":"cyathea-cooperii","title":"Tree Fern - Cyathea cooperii (Alsophila)","description":"\u003cp\u003eFaster than the soft tree fern and much quicker to give a garden height, Cyathea cooperi puts up a slender trunk patterned with pale oval scars where old fronds have dropped. The fronds are finely divided and lacy, arching out into a wide crown, and a well-fed plant in a warm climate will add noticeable trunk in a season.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSite it out of wind. Shredded, brown-edged fronds are almost always wind burn or dryness rather than disease. Water into the crown as well as the root zone in hot weather, keep the root area mulched, and feed lightly through the growing season. Filtered light or morning sun suits it, while harsh afternoon sun bleaches the fronds pale.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo cautions. The golden hairs and scales around the frond bases irritate some people, so cover your arms when trimming. And in warm moist districts it self-sows freely from spore, so check local advice before planting near bushland or waterways. Supplied in 300mm pots.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 300mm, at $88.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"300mm","offer_id":64308713587057,"sku":null,"price":88.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/NaZ4ggZb9tcsIEBJEr9SS_rBneBqS0.jpg?v=1787627759"},{"product_id":"dicksonia-antarctica","title":"Soft Tree Fern - Dicksonia antarctica","description":"\u003cp\u003eTree ferns are sold by trunk length rather than pot size, and it helps to know why. What you are buying is a section of living trunk, a dense fibrous mass of aerial roots, which pushes a fresh crown of fronds once it settles in. Trunk height increases very slowly, so buy the height you actually want to look at.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWater the trunk, not just the ground around it. Keeping the fibrous trunk and the crown damp through summer is the thing that decides whether a soft tree fern thrives or sits there looking miserable. Hot dry wind crisps the fronds quickly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt belongs in cool, shaded, sheltered ground: a fernery, the south side of a building, a gully planting, or under established canopy where little else will grow. It comes from the cool wet forests of the south east and takes frost without complaint. Stock ranges from 70mm tubes for mass understorey work up to trunks well over a metre.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 21 sizes, from 70mm up to 90-100 cm trunk, priced from $16.95 to $2189.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. The smaller pots hold younger plants that cost less each and establish quickly, which suits hedges, screens and mass planting where the plant count adds up. The larger sizes carry several more years of growth on the farm and give height and presence straight away, which is what you want for a single feature position or a screen that cannot wait. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"200L","offer_id":64308756971889,"sku":null,"price":899.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200mm","offer_id":64308757004657,"sku":null,"price":36.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"180mm","offer_id":64308757037425,"sku":null,"price":34.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"90L","offer_id":64308757070193,"sku":null,"price":659.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"400L","offer_id":64308757102961,"sku":null,"price":1549.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"250mm","offer_id":64308757135729,"sku":null,"price":65.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64308757168497,"sku":null,"price":17.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"400mm","offer_id":64308757201265,"sku":null,"price":319.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"100L","offer_id":64308757234033,"sku":null,"price":2189.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300mm","offer_id":64308757266801,"sku":null,"price":129.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"75L","offer_id":64308757299569,"sku":null,"price":989.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"150L","offer_id":64308757332337,"sku":null,"price":2189.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"100-110 cm trunk","offer_id":64311645372785,"sku":null,"price":749.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"20 -30 cm trunk","offer_id":64311645405553,"sku":null,"price":379.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"90-100 cm trunk","offer_id":64311645438321,"sku":null,"price":289.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"150-160 cm trunk","offer_id":64311645471089,"sku":null,"price":409.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"70mm","offer_id":64311645503857,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"40-50 cm trunk","offer_id":64311645536625,"sku":null,"price":429.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"30-40 cm trunk","offer_id":64311645569393,"sku":null,"price":97.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"60-70 cm trunk","offer_id":64311645602161,"sku":null,"price":199.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"120-130 cm trunk","offer_id":64311645634929,"sku":null,"price":379.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/s64uXOJphZ1GmXUv6WCPM_lO0FXof2.jpg?v=1787627820"},{"product_id":"nephrolepis-boston-blue-bell","title":"Sword Fern - Nephrolepis Boston Blue Bell","description":"\u003cp\u003eAlthough it is sold as an indoor plant, this fern performs best where there is real humidity and good light without direct sun: a bright bathroom, a shaded verandah, or the sheltered side of a pergola. Blue Bell is one of the more compact and upright Boston type sword ferns, with densely set, slightly ruffled leaflets and fronds that arch into a tidy shuttlecock rather than sprawling.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBrown, crisp frond tips are the standard complaint and they usually point to dry air, a draught off an air conditioner, or a pot that dried out once too often. Keep the mix evenly damp but never standing in water, and cut spent fronds right back at the base so new ones can push through. It is a natural choice for a hanging basket where the fronds can spill.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne point of confusion worth clearing up: this is not the fishbone fern, Nephrolepis cordifolia, which spreads by tubers and is a serious environmental weed in parts of Queensland and New South Wales.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 2 sizes, from 140mm up to 170mm, priced from $17.95 to $23.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64309231452529,"sku":null,"price":17.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"170mm","offer_id":64309231485297,"sku":null,"price":23.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/7r-yfRYigq2Dfejk1t4h2_qRhfLT5A.jpg?v=1787628545"},{"product_id":"platycerium-netherlands","title":"Elkhorn Fern - Platycerium Netherlands","description":"\u003cp\u003eDo not pot this one into soil. Netherlands is a compact, upright-fronded selection of the elkhorn fern, Platycerium bifurcatum, and like all elkhorns it grows on trees, boards or slabs rather than in the ground. Sitting it in a wet potting mix is the quickest way to rot the crown.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwo frond types do two jobs. The flat, rounded shield fronds at the back turn brown and papery with age, but they are not dead. They form the plant's root cover and catch leaf litter, so leave them alone. The forked antler fronds arching forward are the ones doing the photosynthesis.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eElkhorns pup freely from the base and build into a colony, which is how you tell them from the solitary staghorn, Platycerium superbum. Bright shade or filtered morning sun suits them; harsh afternoon sun bleaches the fronds. Water by soaking the whole mount and letting it drain fully, and keep it under cover where frosts are likely.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is supplied in one size, 170mm, at $23.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot it arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"170mm","offer_id":64309327004017,"sku":null,"price":23.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/f-bd28NWN6iqQlwBwDSyl_ulJCpa96.jpg?v=1787628679"},{"product_id":"polystichum-proliferum-fern-mother-shield","title":"Polystichum proliferum Fern - Mother Shield","description":"\u003cp\u003eWatch the tips of the fronds. Mother shield fern earns its name by producing small plantlets near the frond apex, which strike roots wherever the frond bends down and touches soil, forming a new fern beside the parent. Peg one into a pot of damp mix and you have propagated it without tools.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNative to cool moist gullies down the east coast and into Tasmania, it builds an upright shuttlecock of dark green, leathery, twice-divided fronds from a stout crown. It is among the hardier native ferns, taking frost and, once settled in, more dryness than most, which is why it persists in Melbourne and Canberra gardens where softer fern understoreys give up.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGive it shade or dappled light and shelter from hot dry wind, which crisps the frond edges faster than drought does. Mulch heavily to keep the crown cool, and cut old fronds off at the base in early spring before the new ones unfurl.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 4 sizes, from 70mm up to 200mm, priced from $16.95 to $30.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"200mm","offer_id":64309341847921,"sku":null,"price":30.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64309341880689,"sku":null,"price":19.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"70mm","offer_id":64311648092529,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false},{"title":"95mm","offer_id":64311648125297,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/AitbNVorhzrCzwhbFoeyG_B00RSX9O.jpg?v=1787628747"},{"product_id":"asplenium-nidus-birds-nest-fern","title":"Birds Nest Fern - Asplenium nidus","description":"\u003cp\u003eUnder a deck, in a shaded south facing courtyard or wedged in the fork of a tree, the bird's nest fern does something few plants manage, which is to look lush in deep shade with very little root run. The fronds are undivided, glossy and bright apple green when new, arranged in a funnel that catches leaf litter and feeds the plant, which is exactly how it lives in the wild as an epiphyte. Three mistakes account for most failures.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWatering into the centre of the rosette in cool weather rots the crown, so water the mix instead.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDirect sun bleaches and crisps the fronds within days.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSnails and slugs work the frond edges overnight, leaving ragged half moon notches that never grow back.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eFronds are brittle where they join the crown, so keep it clear of foot traffic. It is sold almost interchangeably with the native Asplenium australasicum, which has a sharply raised keel along the underside of the frond.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 5 sizes, from 125mm up to 300mm, priced from $16.95 to $119.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311345512817,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200mm","offer_id":64311345545585,"sku":null,"price":48.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"180mm","offer_id":64311345578353,"sku":null,"price":43.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300mm","offer_id":64311345611121,"sku":null,"price":119.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"125mm","offer_id":64311345643889,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/0c4pwhL3zrtAcQv_4BUXz_HLlqD72t.jpg?v=1787629187"},{"product_id":"blechnum-gibbum-silver-lady","title":"Dwarf Tree Fern - Blechnum gibbum Silver Lady","description":"\u003cp\u003eSilver Lady is the dwarf tree fern landscapers reach for when a full sized tree fern would swallow the space. It builds a tight, symmetrical rosette of glossy, upright, ladder like fronds, and over several years lays down a short black fibrous trunk beneath them, so an established plant reads as a miniature tree fern. That combination of small scale and true trunk is why it ends up in shaded courtyards, beside a covered entry, or in a wide pot where it can be looked down into.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eGrowing Silver Lady in Australian shade\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is a subtropical fern, so it belongs in warm temperate and subtropical gardens and is frost tender in cooler districts, where a container that can be shifted under a verandah for winter is the safer plan. Give it bright shade with no direct midday sun, shelter from wind, and soil built up with compost and leaf litter so it holds moisture while still draining. In a pot, use a mix with bark in it rather than a dense potting soil. The failure mode is drying out, and it happens from the air as much as the soil: hot dry wind, an air conditioning outlet or a heated indoor room will brown and crisp the frond tips within days, and two spotted mite moves in underneath the damaged fronds soon after. The trunk itself must stay damp, so wet the trunk and the root zone in summer rather than only the surface of the mix, and mulch around the base. Do not let water sit in the crown where the new fronds unfurl, which rots the growing point on a plant kept indoors or in still air. A pebble tray does more than misting indoors. Morning sun on a humid coastal side of the house is fine. Hard afternoon sun anywhere in Australia is not.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSilver Lady or a strappy alternative\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNothing else in this range gives you a trunk at this scale, which is the whole point of buying it. The closest cross shop is \u003ca href=\"\/products\/flax-lily-dianella-caerulea\"\u003eBlue Flax Lily\u003c\/a\u003e, which will also fill a shaded bed under trees, but it is a low water, spreading, strappy plant that shrugs off dry spells and covers ground fast. Choose Dianella for coverage and drought tolerance, and Silver Lady for a single sculptural plant in a spot you can keep humid and watered. If the courtyard you are filling actually gets hard afternoon sun and reflected heat off render, neither is the answer, and \u003ca href=\"\/products\/agave-blue-glow\"\u003eAgave Blue Glow\u003c\/a\u003e is the pot specimen to look at instead. The rest of the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/ferns\"\u003efern range\u003c\/a\u003e is worth a look if you want more frond texture in the same bed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTrimming a fern that will not shed\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOld fronds do not drop cleanly off this one. Cut them at the base with secateurs once they yellow, and never pull, because tearing at the crown opens the growing point to rot. Work through the plant a couple of times a year rather than stripping it bare in one go, since the fronds shade the trunk. Feed lightly and often instead of heavily: a slow release fertiliser formulated for ferns or indoor plants in early spring, topped up in midsummer, plus liquid seaweed through the growing season. Strong doses of high nitrogen fertiliser scorch the roots of a plant this fine rooted. Refresh the mulch each spring so the trunk base never bakes dry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 13 sizes, from 66mm Square up to 400mm, priced from $16.95 to $269.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. The smaller pots hold younger plants that cost less each and establish quickly, which suits hedges, screens and mass planting where the plant count adds up. The larger sizes carry several more years of growth on the farm and give height and presence straight away, which is what you want for a single feature position or a screen that cannot wait. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"200mm","offer_id":64311346659697,"sku":null,"price":29.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311346692465,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"270mm","offer_id":64311346725233,"sku":null,"price":61.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300mm","offer_id":64311346758001,"sku":null,"price":94.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"66mm Square","offer_id":64311346790769,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"250mm","offer_id":64311346823537,"sku":null,"price":60.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"400mm","offer_id":64311346856305,"sku":null,"price":269.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"120mm","offer_id":64311346889073,"sku":null,"price":19.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"125mm","offer_id":64311346921841,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"175mm","offer_id":64311346954609,"sku":null,"price":24.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"150mm","offer_id":64311346987377,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"130mm","offer_id":64311347020145,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"180mm","offer_id":64311347052913,"sku":null,"price":36.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/pd17-331-silver-lady-fern-blechnum-gibbum-silver-la_f1f50770-869a-4685-9ccf-9c344dac47c6.png?v=1785551606"},{"product_id":"cyathea-australis","title":"Tree Fern - Cyathea australis (Alsophila)","description":"\u003cp\u003eRough tree fern and soft tree fern get sold to the same buyers and they are not interchangeable. Cyathea australis carries a slimmer, darker trunk and stiffer, more upright fronds, and the frond bases feel harsh and scaly in the hand, where Dicksonia antarctica is fat trunked and wrapped in soft brown fibre. It grows in gullies and wet forest down the east coast, from Queensland through New South Wales and Victoria to Tasmania. Use it for fern glades, shaded courtyards and the understorey beneath established trees.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe rough tree fern\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is the tree fern for a cold garden. It handles frost and cool highland conditions better than most of the group, which makes it workable well south of where the subtropical species give up. Soil should be deep, crumbly and full of organic matter, kept damp through summer and mulched heavily; leaf litter and compost around the base do more good than fertiliser ever will. Water into the crown and down the trunk as well as onto the ground, because the trunk carries roots that take up moisture directly. Shelter from hot dry wind matters more than anything else you can give it. The failure mode is drying out. A run of hot days with the crown left dry will crisp the fronds and kill the growing point, and there is no recovery from that: unlike Dicksonia, a Cyathea trunk cannot be cut and replanted, so a dead crown is a dead plant. Set the irrigation up before summer rather than after the first heatwave. Plants growing under an established canopy hold moisture longer between waterings and take less wind, which is why gully plantings look after themselves.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eRough or smooth, cold or coastal\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/cyathea-cooperi\"\u003eCyathea cooperi\u003c\/a\u003e is the obvious comparison and the differences are practical. Cooperi has pale, finely divided fronds, a slim trunk patterned with neat oval scars and a subtropical constitution; australis is coarser, darker and much tougher in the cold, and it is far less likely to seed itself around your garden. Take cooperi for a warm coastal courtyard where you want soft texture, and australis for a Victorian or tablelands garden, a frost pocket, or a gully planting that has to survive without babysitting. For a tender rainforest palm at the other end of that range, see \u003ca href=\"\/products\/schippia-concolor\"\u003eSchippia concolor\u003c\/a\u003e. Both tree ferns are sold on trunk height, so compare trunks rather than frond spread when you are matching sizes. More of the group is under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/ferns\"\u003eferns\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eOld fronds and gentle feeding\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eCut fronds off only when they have browned right through, close to the trunk but without gouging it, and leave anything still holding green tissue because the plant is still drawing on it. Late winter and early spring, before the new croziers unfurl, is the tidiest time to do it. Wear long sleeves; the scales on the frond bases irritate skin. Feed lightly in the warm months with a dilute liquid fertiliser or aged manure spread over the root zone, never a strong dry fertiliser tipped into the crown, and keep the mulch layer deep. Fronds that brown from the tips inward through summer are almost always a watering problem rather than a feeding one.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 5 sizes, from 140mm up to 100L, priced from $16.95 to $649.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. The smaller pots hold younger plants that cost less each and establish quickly, which suits hedges, screens and mass planting where the plant count adds up. The larger sizes carry several more years of growth on the farm and give height and presence straight away, which is what you want for a single feature position or a screen that cannot wait. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311388438897,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"100L","offer_id":64311388471665,"sku":null,"price":649.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"180mm","offer_id":64311388504433,"sku":null,"price":34.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"500mm","offer_id":64311388537201,"sku":null,"price":489.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200mm","offer_id":64311388569969,"sku":null,"price":65.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/pd17-305-rough-tree-fern-cyathea-australis_cb3aa5c0-c252-4811-8979-c169da957816.png?v=1785551708"},{"product_id":"cyathea-cooperi","title":"Tree Fern - Cyathea cooperi (Alsophila)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe trunk is the giveaway. Cyathea cooperi carries neat oval scars where old fronds have fallen away, patterned up a slim trunk, and the fronds themselves are pale green, finely divided and held in a wide shuttlecock, with new croziers unfurling under a coat of golden brown scales. It comes from subtropical rainforest along the east coast. In gardens it is the standard choice for a canopy layer over shaded courtyards, pool surrounds and fern glades, where the fronds are read from underneath rather than from above.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eOval frond scars and golden croziers\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eWarm, sheltered and damp is the summary. It wants steady moisture through summer, watered into the crown and down the trunk rather than only onto the soil, in ground that is rich with organic matter and mulched deeply. Protect it from hot dry wind, which shreds and browns the fine pinnae faster than anything else will. Frost is where this one parts company with the hardier tree ferns: in a cold garden the fronds burn off, and repeated hits kill the crown, so it belongs in coastal and subtropical positions or in a frost free courtyard microclimate. There is a second cost worth knowing about before you plant. It seeds itself freely from spore in humid climates, turning up in gutters, in pots, in the mulch of neighbouring beds and in bushland behind the fence. If you back onto a reserve, take that seriously and pull volunteers out while they are small. Under an eave or a pergola the crown picks up some protection from radiant frost, which is often enough in a marginal district, and a deep mulch layer over the root zone carries it through hot spells.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWarm garden softness against cold garden grit\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/cyathea-australis\"\u003eCyathea australis\u003c\/a\u003e is the alternative and the split is climate. Australis is rougher in texture, darker in the trunk and much better in cold and frost, so it is the one for tablelands and southern gardens; cooperi is softer, paler, better suited to warm humid conditions, and available here in the widest run of sizes in this batch, from small pots through to large specimens. If the garden is genuinely tropical and you want a fine textured palm under canopy instead of a fern, \u003ca href=\"\/products\/schippia-concolor\"\u003eSchippia concolor\u003c\/a\u003e plays a similar role at a smaller scale. Both ferns are handled the same way once they are in the ground, so the decision really comes down to your coldest winter nights. Others in the group sit under \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/ferns\"\u003eferns\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFrond clean-up through the year\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrond removal is the whole job. Take spent fronds off close to the trunk once they have gone fully brown, at any time of year in a warm climate, and wear gloves and long sleeves, because the scales on the stalk bases irritate skin badly. Do not cut into the trunk itself, and never damage the crown. Feed through the warm months with dilute liquid fertiliser or well rotted organic matter spread over the root zone, keeping it out of the crown, and refresh the mulch each spring. Volunteer seedlings in beds, pots and gutters come out easily while they are young, so fold that into the same round of work.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 13 sizes, from 125mm up to 300L, priced from $16.95 to $3969.00 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. The smaller pots hold younger plants that cost less each and establish quickly, which suits hedges, screens and mass planting where the plant count adds up. The larger sizes carry several more years of growth on the farm and give height and presence straight away, which is what you want for a single feature position or a screen that cannot wait. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311416160625,"sku":null,"price":16.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300mm","offer_id":64311416193393,"sku":null,"price":119.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"250mm","offer_id":64311416226161,"sku":null,"price":59.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"45L","offer_id":64311416258929,"sku":null,"price":389.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200L","offer_id":64311416291697,"sku":null,"price":1399.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"100L","offer_id":64311416324465,"sku":null,"price":649.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"75L","offer_id":64311416357233,"sku":null,"price":779.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"400mm","offer_id":64311416390001,"sku":null,"price":249.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"180mm","offer_id":64311416422769,"sku":null,"price":55.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"300L","offer_id":64311416455537,"sku":null,"price":3969.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"125mm","offer_id":64311416488305,"sku":null,"price":32.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"200mm","offer_id":64311416521073,"sku":null,"price":32.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"500mm","offer_id":64311416553841,"sku":null,"price":2309.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/plantdrop-fern-tree-cyathea-cooperi-20260611_75ae6ca1-093d-46bf-adf4-3ec12018cc22.png?v=1785551765"},{"product_id":"blechnum-silver-lady","title":"Dwarf Tree Fern - Blechnum Silver Lady","description":"\u003cp\u003eIf you have a shaded courtyard or a bright bathroom that needs real structure, Silver Lady does more work than most ferns. It is a dwarf tree fern that builds a short, dark, fibrous trunk over several years, topped by a symmetrical rosette of stiff, glossy, pinnate fronds. New fronds unfurl pale and silvered against the older dark green, which is where the name comes from.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is a tropical plant at heart, so cold and dry air are the two things that undo it. Frost burns the crown, and a heated indoor room with no humidity gives you crisped frond tips within weeks. Keep the mix damp but never sour, group it with other plants to lift humidity, and feed lightly through the warm months. When potting on, do not bury the developing trunk, because the crown rots if it is set too deep. Offered in 140mm and 250mm, with the larger pot already showing trunk.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3 class=\"pd-size-guidance\"\u003eChoosing a size\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis plant is available in 2 sizes, from 140mm up to 250mm, priced from $17.95 to $63.95 per plant. The size shown is the pot the plant arrives in, which is the rootball, not the height of the plant. These are younger plants, priced for planting in quantity, and they establish quickly once in the ground. Not sure which to choose? Read our guide to \u003ca href=\"\/blogs\/news\/when-to-plant-trees-and-shrubs-australia\"\u003ewhen to plant in Australia\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Plant Drop","offers":[{"title":"140mm","offer_id":64311500407153,"sku":null,"price":17.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true},{"title":"250mm","offer_id":64311500439921,"sku":null,"price":63.95,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/files\/smWYMbkN9uda1wgrIikJs_5oQht43u.jpg?v=1787630134"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1017\/1049\/6113\/collections\/plantdrop-fern-tree-cyathea-cooperi-20260611_75ae6ca1-093d-46bf-adf4-3ec12018cc22.png?v=1787349010","url":"https:\/\/plantdrop.com.au\/collections\/ferns.oembed","provider":"Plant Drop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}