Sustainable Fernmania Tree Fern Mulch Now Available at Bunnings Warehouse Tasmania
Fernmania Tree Fern Mulch is now available through Bunnings Warehouse throughout Tasmania, giving gardeners access to a natural Tasmanian garden product with an interesting story, thats very different from ordinary mulch.
Made from 100% tree fern fibre, Fernmania Mulch can be used to help retain moisture, condition soil and support healthy root growth. But what makes it particularly important to us is where that fibre comes from and how it fits into Fernmania’s approach to making use of as much of the Dicksonia antarctica tree fern as possible.
At Fernmania, we believe that natural material should not be wasted when it can continue to support new plant life.
More Than Just Mulch
Dicksonia antarctica, commonly known as the soft tree fern or man fern, is unusual because of the way it can survive relocation.
Unlike an ordinary woody tree, a Dicksonia antarctica can be cut through the trunk while retaining the living crown and upper section. When this section is replanted correctly and kept moist, it can develop a new root system and continue growing in its new location.
The Australian National Botanic Gardens explains what Fermania says - that Dicksonia antarctica can be grown as a cutting: the trunk is cut and the top section is replanted, where it forms new roots and regrows. Gardening Australia similarly explains the same - that a soft tree fern can be moved by cutting the trunk with its growing crown and replanting it, after which the trunk develops a new root system.
So when one of these tree ferns is responsibly relocated, the fern has not simply been cut down and lost.
The living fern continues in the crown and upper trunk.
That distinction is an important part of understanding what happens to the remaining material.
Giving the Remaining Tree Fern Fibre Another Purpose
After the living section of a Dicksonia antarctica has been prepared for relocation, sections of the remaining fibrous material can still have considerable value. Rather than treating those offcuts as waste, Fernmania reuses the material in several ways.
Some sections are used as natural growing mounts for plants such as staghorns and elkhorns. Other material is returned to the nursery and growing environment. Suitable fibrous material can also be processed into Fernmania
After the living section of a Dicksonia antarctica has been prepared for relocation, sections of the remaining fibrous material can still have considerable value. Rather than treating those offcuts as waste, Fernmania reuses the material in several ways.
Some sections are used as natural growing mounts for plants such as staghorns and elkhorns. Other material is returned to the nursery and growing environment. Suitable fibrous material can also be processed into Fernmania Tree Fern Mulch.
It means that one rescued tree fern can continue its life as a growing plant while material that would otherwise be discarded is put back to work helping other plants grow. For us, that is practical sustainability.
Rescuing Tree Ferns Before They Would Otherwise Be Lost
Fernmania has worked with Dicksonia antarctica for more than 40 years and specialises in relocating mature tree ferns.
Some of the tree ferns we handle come from areas already scheduled for approved forestry, clearing or infrastructure operations. Tasmania’s regulated tree fern system formally allows commercial salvage harvesting in areas scheduled for intensive harvesting and reforestation operations, and the Australian Government-approved Tree Fern Management Plan defines salvage harvesting as harvesting a resource that would otherwise be destroyed.
Fernmania operates within this regulated system and also grows tree ferns on our own property. Where a mature Dicksonia antarctica can be removed before an approved operation reaches it, our aim is to relocate the viable plant so that it can continue growing somewhere else.
And once that living tree fern has been given another opportunity to grow, we want the remaining natural material to have a useful future as well. Fernmania Tree Fern Mulch is one of the ways we achieve that.
What Is Fernmania Mulch?
Fernmania Mulch is made from: 100% tree fern fibre
The product is designed to assist with:
water retention
general soil conditioning
healthy root development
adding organic fibrous material around plants
improving growing conditions in garden beds and pots
The naturally fibrous structure of tree fern material allows it to hold moisture while remaining relatively open. This is particularly useful in gardens where maintaining moisture around plant roots is important.
How to Use Fernmania Tree Fern Mulch
Fernmania Mulch can be used in several ways around the garden.
When Planting
Dig the tree fern fibre into the soil when planting seedlings, shrubs and trees to help create a moisture-retentive growing environment around developing roots.
As a Soil Conditioner
Work the fibre into existing garden soil where additional organic material and moisture retention are required.
In Pots and Containers
Fernmania’s packaging recommends combining the tree fern fibre with potting mix at approximately a 50:50 ratio when potting plants.
The result is an open, fibrous growing mix that can help retain moisture while providing a natural medium around developing roots.
Why Tree Fern Fibre Holds Water So Well
Anyone familiar with an established Dicksonia antarctica knows just how fibrous its trunk is. A tree fern trunk is very different from the solid timber trunk of an ordinary tree. It contains a dense network of roots and organic material associated with the fern’s growth.
That natural structure is one of the reasons tree fern fibre works so well as a moisture-holding garden material. Bunnings' own gardening guidance explains that mulch can help retain soil moisture, moderate soil conditions and, where organic material is used, gradually contribute organic matter as it breaks down.
Tree fern fibre performs that role using a natural material produced as part of Fernmania’s wider tree fern operation.
Using More and Wasting Less
Fernmania’s sustainability practices extend beyond mulch.
Across our Scottsdale property we grow and care for large numbers of Dicksonia antarctica, collect and store our own water, relocate mature specimens where possible, propagate plants and reuse tree fern material throughout our nursery.
Tree fern trunks can become natural mounts for other plants. Offcuts can be reused. Fibrous material can become mulch and growing media. And the living crown of a relocated Dicksonia antarctica can continue growing for many years in its new home.
Our aim is simple: use as much of the plant as possible and waste as little as possible.
Now Available Through Bunnings Warehouse in Tasmania
Fernmania Tree Fern Mulch is now available through Bunnings Warehouse stores throughout Tasmania, making this locally produced tree fern fibre easier for Tasmanian gardeners to access.
Look for the distinctive green Fernmania Mulch - 100% Tree Fern Fibre packaging in the garden section of your local Bunnings Warehouse.
Store stock may vary, so check with your local store if you are making a special trip.
By choosing Fernmania Tree Fern Mulch, you are not simply adding another garden product to your soil.
You are using a natural material that has been given another purpose - helping one Tasmanian plant continue supporting the growth of another.
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