featured plant

Cyathea cooperi ‘Brentwood’

Plant Information:

Containers are a fun way to try new and maybe exotic plants, especially those plants we want to keep but which are not hardy. Australian tree fern is one such plant. Having over-wintered inside our offices, our specimen of Cyathea cooperi ‘Brentwood’ is currently enjoying its second summer here.
As with most ferns, new tree-fern fronds emerge by uncurling from tightly wound crosiers (imagine the scroll-shaped violin head). In the case of this fern, the crosiers are densely furred with coppery, hair-like fibers. Once the frond has fully expanded, these scales (as the hair-like fibers are know in fern terminology) persist on the stipes (frond stems) and rachis (more of the stem-like part of the frond that connects the stipe to the “leafy” part of the frond). Although especially attractive when backlit, these coppery scales are large and dense enough to be visually interesting almost any time.
When grown where winters are much milder, these plants may attain truly tree-like proportions (hence the name tree-fern). In Hawaii, this non-native is considered an aggressive invader. Our comparatively harsh winters mean that the Australian tree-fern poses no threat to the local flora. We’re happy enough to have it survive inside to be taken out again next year.

Would you like to learn more about ferns, tropical and/or hardy? Be sure to visit the Hoffman Library where you can find a wide variety of references on ferns.

 

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