The Rain Forest comes to Gwondanaland

With the water restrictions now largely lifted I decided to re-install some misters and a few drip irrigation points to my little patch of gwondanaland. I had left it pretty much to its own devices over the past few years but the hot weather we often get in february really hit the fern hard over the past couple of years, and I lost a couple of smaller tree ferns and some ground ferns. Hopefully this year the occasional misting will keep my little patch of rain forest vibrant, if nothing else it helps significantly cool the house on those baking hot days,

Thriving under Neglect

The two hot weeks back in febuary really fried the fern (the looked dead) and savaged pretty much everything in my Gwondanaland garden. I did refurbish the irrigation sprays, now that the water restrictions have been eased BUT I haven't used them regulalry instead the garden has had to struggle on under on its own. Well the spring rain bought on some nice new growth on the tree ferns and the gingko. Now everything is looking happy and healthy

Already the Leaves are turning Yellow

While I haven't been posting in here lately I have been paying attention to the wealth fare of Gondwanaland. We had a bruising hot and dry spell in February, and all the tree ferns had the fronds burnt and it has taken a few months to get the the tree ferns sprotting and some signs of life back into my mini forest. Returning home form a long trip I was pleased by the splashes of yellow, especially the ginkgo.

That was some heat wave

The past few days has literally frizzled the tree fern canopy

The green drought!

It has been a long time between post. I seemed that the rain had come and things where returning to their normal seasonal cycle.

However I have just noticed that the new fern was looking decidedly dry. Maybe it was true, the myth of a green drought was coming true. I firmly believe the culprit was actually a few days of unseasonal dry north winds, but I am returning to the shower bucket method and watering the head of the stem as new shoots emerge just to be on the safe side.

The palm "terrace" takes shape

The new fern has prompted me to remove the remaining bamboo (a hard task by the way) and start the basis for the palms end of my cretaceous garden. I know "Palm Terrace" is a lofty title but it is a fraction elavated. I plan to leave the center hollow so I can rotate potted palms from indoors. The soil is hopeless clay but in the process of digging out the babmoob runns it has had a good digging over. I plan just to add about 30cm of leaf litter rather than a top soil to gove it a rainforest floor feel. The fern looks quiet happy after its transplant, despite the continued warm (and dry weather)

saving a tree fern

The tree ferns of melbourne are having a hard time, even my own ones. They seem to have been dropping their outer fronds, dry and brown at a great rate. I suspect it is just a sign of drought stress, a lot consider that they are dying. Anyway to cut a long story short I have me offered a couple if i think I can save them.


Well I may as well have a go, my first patient is a very thin fern and I can not figure out exactly which species it is, my best guess is Dicksonia fibrosa. So rather that just do the old saw it off and stick it back in the ground, whichwork well enough for Dicksonia antarctica, I decided to get a significant part of the root mat, which were only growing across the surface.

I also trimmed off all the fronds other that the new sprouts. With a little close supervision to make sure the roots don't dry out I expect it will thrive in my little bit of gwondanaland.

The final problem remains where to plant it?

I do know how to water the soft tree ferns

I acutally do know how to best water the soft tree ferns [Dicksonia antarctica]. Their "truck" is not a trunk at all, just a pile of root matter, which can soak up an amazing amount of water. the shape of the fronds and the way they branch also aid the collection of rain water. So the best place to water these ferns is at the crown, where the fronds grow out of this "trunk" (aka aerial root).

"The funnel-shaped rosette of fronds of D. antarctica may harvest rainfall and make it accessible to aerial roots situated at the base of fronds. This process may maintain favourable water relations independently of a subterranean root system. This proposed strategy of water acquisition is unique for a fern species and may eliminate a need for soil moisture competition with surrounding plant species."

... from Ecophysiology of the Soft Tree Fern, Dicksonia antarctica Labill by HUNT M.A.; DAVIDSON N.J.; UNWIN G.L. & CLOSE D.C.

Before it was Gwandanaland

This is a pre-historic photo (you know pre-digital cameras) of my little garden before it became a cretaceous garden. Note the two original tree fern inhabitants It had a open wooden lattice cover, now removed, there are now 5 soft tree ferns to provide a more natural replacement shade canopy.

[The "BLACK PLASTIC WEED MAT" MYTH: Also note nothing else is in the garden, nothing would grow. This was mainly due the old fashion idea of using black plastic and pinebark to stop the weeds. Well its stopped the weeds and everything else by killing the soil structure (if it had any) Only the tree ferns survived, because they could get what they needed via their aerial root trunks]