Dicksonia antartica - Tree Fern with small trunk 24cm pot

Dicksonia antarctica

An architectural showstopper for a shady, sheltered corner. This magnificent evergreen tree fern (deciduous only in the coldest gardens) forms a stout, reddish-brown trunk topped with a dramatic terminal rosette of arching, deeply divided fronds reaching up to 3m in length. New fronds unfurl slowly from the crown each spring, offering a genuinely fascinating spectacle as they open. An RHS Award of Garden Merit winner, it brings an unmistakably exotic, prehistoric feel to any planting scheme.

'Antarctica' is slow-growing, adding only a few centimetres of trunk each year, but given time it will reach a substantial 2.5–4m in height and spread. It thrives in full or partial shade in a sheltered position, away from cold winds and scorching sun, in reliably moist, humus-rich, acid to neutral soil — it dislikes drying out. Reasonably hardy in mild UK gardens, though winter protection is worthwhile in harder winters: wrapping the crown and trunk with straw or fleece helps see it through the coldest spells. A superb focal point for woodland gardens, courtyards, or sheltered exotic borders.

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