Dicksonia antarctica for Sale: 1.5m to 2.1m Tree Ferns Available for Local & Export Supply

Ruth van den Berg

Oct 4

5 min read

Fernmania currently has strong availability of mature Dicksonia antarctica in the popular 1.5 metre, 1.8 metre and 2.1 metre trunk sizes, approximately 5, 6 and 7 feet.

These larger Tasmanian tree ferns are available for Australian garden centres, nurseries, landscapers, developers and other trade customers, as well as for international export.

For businesses looking for established tree ferns that can create immediate height and impact in a landscape, these sizes offer a practical middle ground between smaller nursery plants and the very large specimen ferns used in major landscape projects.

Palletised Dicksonia antarctica for sale, securely stacked at Fernmania for Australia-wide trade delivery.

Trade Supply for Australian Businesses and Garden Centres

For Australian wholesale and commercial customers, Fernmania can prepare Dicksonia antarctica in palletised stacks for transport. Depending on individual trunk diameter, as many as approximately 30 tree ferns can be securely packed into a single palletised stack.

Whie Fernmania does grow their own Dicksonia Antarctica a lot come from forestry or privately cleared land, so we can’t often dictate the sizes available.

The photographs in this article show how todays local fern shipments are prepared at Fernmania for commercial transport. Trunks are carefully stacked within purpose-built timber frames and secured for movement, allowing a considerable number of mature ferns to be transported efficiently while keeping the load stable.

Because Dicksonia antarctica has a fibrous trunk rather than the solid woody trunk of an ordinary tree, mature plants can be transported without the large root ball that would normally make moving a plant of this size extremely difficult. When replanted correctly and kept moist, the living crown and trunk produce a new root system and the fern continues growing in its new location. This unusual ability is one of the reasons Dicksonia antarctica has become such a useful specimen plant for landscape projects, nurseries and garden centres.

Dicksonia antarctica in the local Tasmanian rainforest. All Fernmania ferns are responsibly sourced.

Sustainably Sourced Tasmanian Tree Ferns

Fernmania has worked with Dicksonia antarctica for around 40 years, and sustainability is central to how our tree ferns are sourced and handled. Commercial tree fern harvesting in Tasmania is regulated under the Tasmanian tree fern management system. Salvage harvesting of Dicksonia antarctica is permitted in areas scheduled for intensive harvesting and reforestation operations, with harvested ferns individually tagged under the regulated system. This is an important distinction.

Many of these tree ferns can be recovered from forestry areas before the operation takes place rather than simply being destroyed along with the surrounding vegetation. Once relocated and replanted, the living crown and upper trunk can establish a new root system and continue growing for many years. Fernmania also grows large numbers of tree ferns in-house and works to reuse remaining tree fern material wherever practical, including for mulch, growing media and natural plant mounts.

Our aim is to give as much of the plant as possible an ongoing purpose.

End view of palletised Dicksonia antarctica tree ferns prepared by Fernmania for local (Australia) wholesale supply.

Why 1.5m to 2.1m Tree Ferns Are Popular

A tree fern with a trunk between 1.5 and 2.1 metres already provides considerable structure before the fronds are taken into account. Once established, the crown sits well above surrounding groundcover and lower planting, making these sizes useful for:

• garden centres and specialist nurseries

• landscape contractors

• commercial developments

• rainforest-style gardens

• resorts and accommodation properties

• public gardens and parklands

• courtyard and atrium planting

• larger residential landscapes

• botanical collections

They can be planted individually as feature specimens or grouped together to quickly create the feeling of an established fern gully. For garden centres, the different trunk heights also make it possible to offer customers a choice of mature specimen sizes rather than waiting many years for a small tree fern to develop substantial height.

Preparing Dicksonia antarctica for Transport

The photographs here show just how efficiently these plants can be prepared for commercial delivery. The crowns are cut back for transport and the trunks are arranged horizontally or vertically within purpose-built pallet frames, depending on the load and destination. The number that can be carried on each pallet depends on the diameter of the individual ferns. Narrower trunks allow more plants to be packed together, while particularly substantial specimens naturally require more room.

As a guide, a palletised stack may contain up to approximately 30 Dicksonia antarctica.

For Australian businesses ordering multiple ferns, this method provides a practical way to move mature plants in commercial quantities rather than handling each tree fern individually.

International Export in Refrigerated Containers

Fernmania also has extensive experience exporting Dicksonia antarctica internationally. International shipments are prepared in 20-foot or 40-foot refrigerated containers, with Fernmania already supplying tree ferns to customers and distributors in a number of overseas markets.

Refrigeration is particularly useful during long-distance sea freight because the plants may spend many weeks without sunlight while inside the container. The cooler environment substantially slows the fern's normal growth and biological activity. This keeps the plants in a hibernation-like state during transport, stunting growth for a short time, which helps preserve the plants energy.

Rather than encouraging the crown to actively produce new fronds in darkness, the refrigerated environment helps hold the fern in a relatively inactive state until it reaches its destination. Depending on the destination and shipping route, container transport can take approximately four to ten weeks. Once the shipment arrives, the tree ferns can be removed from the container, planted, thoroughly watered and return to normal growing conditions quickly.

Built for Long-Distance Transport

One of the remarkable qualities of Dicksonia antarctica is its ability to tolerate this kind of handling. Fernmania has exported Tasmanian tree ferns internationally for many years. When properly prepared, kept moist and handled correctly at the destination, the trunks can successfully establish again after extended transport.

They are also shipped without normal soil root balls, which makes them substantially more practical for international movement than many similarly sized living plants.

International exports are prepared in accordance with the relevant Australian export, wildlife trade and plant health requirements, along with the import requirements of the destination country.

Large stack of Dicksonia antarctica for sale, secured on a pallet for Australian trade customers.

Current Trade Availability - Dicksonia antarctica for Sale

Fernmania currently has good availability across the following larger trunk sizes:

1.5 metres / approximately 5 feet

1.8 metres / approximately 6 feet

2.1 metres / approximately 7 feet

Individual trunk diameter and appearance will naturally vary because these are living plants. Australian nurseries, garden centres, landscape businesses and commercial buyers are welcome to contact Fernmania regarding pallet quantities, available sizes and delivery requirements.

International importers, nursery distributors and landscape suppliers can also contact Fernmania regarding container quantities and export opportunities. For businesses looking for established Tasmanian Dicksonia antarctica, this is an opportunity to secure mature tree ferns that have already spent many years developing the height and character that make this species so distinctive.