Come the end of May, any winter protection on your tree ferns can be removed.
Although you should still keep an eye on the weather forecasts, the danger of any damaging frosts at this time of year is minimal.
So we can now move on to caring for our tree ferns during the summer.
As with all plants, we should look to their natural environment to give us clues as to how we should look after them.
In the case of D.Antarctica, they come from areas with a high water content such as forests, some of which are at high altitude (cloud forests) alongside stream beds and gullies.
I should point out, that although they like plenty of water, they will not tolerate waterlogged roots so drainage must be first class.
Once established, they’ll also stand some dryness but this should not be for prolonged periods.
For best growth and appearance, frequent watering is a must.
If you have the time try to water twice a day or more, especially in hot weather and thoroughly soak the plant.
If you only have the time to water it once then do it in the evening, evaporation is considerably slower at this time due to the temperature cooling down thus giving the fern more time to take up water.
Use a good quality general fertilizer and apply it at one half or one third full strength at every other watering.
This is called the “little and often” principle and means that your fern gets small amounts of fertilizer at regular intervals rather than in one big dose.
Once a month, drench the fern with plain water, this will leach out any unused fertilizer salts.
If these salts build up, they can cause root damage.
If you follow the instructions in my Blog Palms!Planting out your treasures you won’t go far wrong.
In case you’re wondering, I use the same method for putting in all my plants I just scale it down for small pots.
Clearly, you don’t need to dig out a large area for a plant in a 4 inch pot.
If you buy your plant as a plain log, that is without any roots, don’t plant too much of it in ground, you only need enough to keep it stable.
Use stakes, three if necessary to stop it from rocking about and remove them when the fern has rooted.
Keep the log well watered at all times during the summer.
Where to site your fern can pose a problem or two.
With two points of interest, namely the fronds and the trunk you want to show them both at their best.
The text books tell us that filtered sunlight is ideal but unfortunately, not many of us have this kind of situation in our garden.
I’ve found that a position in open shade avoiding at least part of the hot afternoon sun is fine.
Late afternoon or early evening sun when the heat has gone out of it is also o.k. Don’t try to shoehorn your fern into a tight space, give it some room to develop.
I’ve included D.Squarrosa because it’s one of those plants which seem to be on sale everywhere.
D.Squarrosa is a New Zealand tree fern which unfortunately isn’t reliably hardy in the U.K.
That isn’t to say it can’t be grown outdoors here, in fact they have some planted out at Birmingham Botanical Gardens but they need full winter protection to succeed.
What usually happens is that people buy one of the small plants that are available nowadays and leave it outside for the winter, where the top growth promptly dies off.
This effectively kills off the growing point of the fern preventing any further growth from the top.
If this happens to you, don’t throw the fern away because you’ll probably find some new growth coming up at the base of your fern.
Strange as it may seem, this new growth seems to be far hardier than the parent plant and you should be able to leave the fern out all year round. (I do!)
D.Squarrosa should always be kept moist and on no account should it be allowed to dry out. Posted by Mike
Although they don't appeal to everyone, Agaves are an essential plant if you want to give your garden the Mediterranean look.
Large potted specimens can be used as focal point or feature plants, while smaller ones can be used to decorate a sunny area or patio.
If you've got enough space, you can create a "desert look" by pot planting them and covering the ground with a decorative mulch. (See photo right taken at Birmingham Botanical Gardens)
At the end of the season and before the first frosts, the pots are lifted and the plants are stored away for the winter.
Of the two hundred or so recognized species, most of those of interest to us here in the U.K. come from the southern States of the U.S.A. and northern Mexico.
By a stroke of good fortune, many of these species are frost hardy and this opens up the possibility of growing them all year round in the open garden.
Unfortunately, this hardiness comes at a price and in order for it to be of any benefit, plants must be kept as dry as possible over the winter months.
Pots & Compost: Repotting is best done in the spring and you don't need to repot annually, every two or three years is fine.
Avoid overpotting as this can lead to unused soil going "sour".
Moving up one pot size is o.k; two is passable but don't go any further than that.
Don't fill the pot right to the top, leave a space between the bottom of the lower leaves and the top of the compost.
This space can be between half and one inch deep for small pots and two inches plus for the larger sizes.
Fill the gap with pea gravel or small pebbles.
This "collar" allows surface water to drain away quickly from around the neck of the plant and also allows air to circulate keeping the neck area dry.
Water trapped in this area can cause problems especially in winter.
When it comes to actually repotting the plants, Agaves with upright growing leaves or those which grow as flattish rosettes are the easiest to repot.
A.Americana with its contorted leaves, is unfortunately a law unto itself and I've collected a few battle scars tangling with this particular beast.
Two things I would like to point out.
You can cut the terminal leaf spine off with a sharp pair of secateurs.
As long as you don't cut into the flesh of the leaf tip itself you'll do no harm.
Not all Agaves have spines along the leaf margins, some have sharp edges for a bit of a change.
Take my word for it these edges are as sharp as razors and will easily cut into your fingers, you have been warned!
The best advice that I can offer, is to wear thick gloves and take care.
Overwintering: How you overwinter your plants depends on which varieties you grow.
The hardier types such as A.Desertii, A.Utahensis, A.Palmeri and A.Parryi (and the plain leaf A.Americana) can all be overwintered outdoors provided you can keep them DRY this is critical. (Somewhere like a covered patio is fine.)
Variagated types like A.a.variegata or A.a. medio-picta alba are some of the less hardy Agaves and are best brought indoors to a frost free area.
If you notice the leaves taking on a slightly wrinkled and soft appearance, this usually means they need a drop of water.
This is easily done by putting the pot into a pot saucer which has a diameter half to one inch larger than the base of the pot.
Fill the saucer with water and allow the plant to soak it up and that's it.
If your plants are kept in a warm sunny area such as a conservatory, you might need to water them a couple of times over the winter but don't overdo it.
Note: If anyone has any questions about growing Agaves in pots, then send me an e.mail and I'll see if I can help.
Cultivation Part 2 to follow.