Monty Don misting a tree fern, Dicksonia Antarctica

karsten.gardenwise

Hi Folks,

Sorry, just responding to inaccuracies again...

Monty Don yesterday was claiming that a Dicksonia antarctica just needs a frequent 10-second mist on the trunk.

For anyone who is trying to grow one, this is nowhere near enough.

The quickest effective way is to water it using a hose spray lance or a watering can with a rose, all over the trunk, from top to bottom.

He states that you are only watering the trunk. That is also not true. The trunk is full of roots, and it is important to soak it regularly at least at first if you are planting an unrooted trunk. But dense roots will grow out from the bottom into the soil, so water the soil normally also. I have it on pretty good authority that it is almost impossible to over water a Dicksonia antarctica. I've seen photos of them in nature growing right next to the water line of a river.
Also, if you water the trunk with hard water, unsightly scale will form on it.

Happy growing!

Hostafan1

@karsten.gardenwise 
Many, ( but not all ) of us are used to MD making mistakes and regularly saying things which are factually inaccurate. 
I take everything he says with a huge pinch of salt.
As the pin up guy for the Tenna Lady generation, his place is secure, unfortunately. 

karsten.gardenwise

@Hostafan1

Ah, thanks, that's good to know I'm not alone 

I wish they would just admit sometimes that they are not sure. Or just do the research, or use a bit of common sense.

Hostafan1

The trouble is , some folk think they're never wrong, or just " b*llsh*t with a confident tone" and get away with it.
  

karen paul

Aww I really like Monty, I think he comes across as a warm friendly and down to earth guy; one of my favourite gardeners. Perhaps he meant ideally a misting for 10 mins but really frequently would be more natural to the tree fern, I am trying to defend him here, lol. But in reality they do need a good soaking (unless they're in a deep dark forest perhaps,lol.)

Hostafan1

karen paul said:

 I think he comes across as a warm friendly and down to earth guy; 

I agree, I'm sure he's all those things, but he still gets a lot of stuff wrong, and a lot of folk hang on his every word and believe everything he says. If folk follow everything he says, they're in for a disappointment , and possible lose some plants and waste money.

Pat E

Tree ferns should be watered from above, not on the ground.

Bijdezee

I like Monty too, much better than Adam and some of the others. Carol klein has an annoying voice at times with her exaggerated speech but.. She knows her stuff so I can forgive it.

I know nothing about tree ferns and I have my doubts that he does everything on that site. 

Dovefromabove

Bijdezee said:

I like Monty too, much better than Adam and some of the others. Carol klein has an annoying voice at times with her exaggerated speech but.. She knows her stuff so I can forgive it.

I know nothing about tree ferns and I have my doubts that he does everything on that site. 

No, since his stroke MD and his wife have quite a bit of help at Longmeadow and he readily acknowledges that.  

RubyLeaf

Hostafan1 said:

karen paul said:

 I think he comes across as a warm friendly and down to earth guy; 

I agree, I'm sure he's all those things, but he still gets a lot of stuff wrong, and a lot of folk hang on his every word and believe everything he says. If folk follow everything he says, they're in for a disappointment , and possible lose some plants and waste money.

Thats... concerning. Gardeners world is a big source of learning for me. :S

karsten.gardenwise

@RubyLeaf,
Yes, it is concerning. Especially when it flies in the face of minimal common sense - a 10 second mist on a tree fern every so often through the summer. It doesn't even sound right counter-intuitively.