The Zimbabwean Gardener Issue 10 Spring 2014 | Page 20

The Zimbabwean Gardener otic ex Plant Tree Ferns What image comes to your mind when we mention tree ferns? A prehistoric plant? The lush tree-like ferns by the streams in Nyanga? Or, the stately plants with a canopy of leaves guarding the golf greens at Leopard Rock Hotel? It seems that we all want one of these majestic plants in our own garden, so we buy one, and maybe it dies, so we buy another one. We need to understand that Zimbabwe has three varieties of indigenous tree ferns, none of which do well in our domestic gardens! Our indigenous tree ferns Cyathea dregei Cyathea dregei, known as the ‘Common tree fern’, is commonly seen in the Eastern highlands of Zimbabwe and is actually very widespread in southern Africa. They grow at an altitude of 8001900m in open grasslands, on banks of rivers and on the periphery of forests. They are slow growing and can tolerate temperatures of -20oC overnight but not for prolonged periods. They do not grow taller than 5m and the trunk diameter 20 By Sally Preston ranges from 20 to 45cm. The stems are covered in brown hair, as seen in the photograph, and they can be easily identified from other Cyathea varieties, even to the novice. Cyathea manniana Cyathea manniana, also known as the ‘Spiny tree fern’, are found in evergreen forests by streams in the Vumba and have extremely harsh spines covering the stem. They grow in glades or in a community, as they need other plants to survive and can grow up to 7m. They can reproduce vegetatively and it is very common to see a variety of Asplenium fern living very successfully on their trunks. Cyathea capensis Cyathea capensis is not at all common and very rarely seen. All these varieties are a protected species in Zimbabwe and nurseries require a permit from the National Parks to sell them to the public. Please make sure you only buy from nurseries that hold this license, as many are being pulled out of their natural habitat, being sold illegally and are now becoming endangered.