Sorry that I can't be too much help to you as I don't know this plant at all. I Googled it for you and there is lots of info on it but mostly for outdoor growing conditions.

Good luck with it:-)
Diane

Here is a link that might be useful: Google search

If you're going to buy one, this is the perfect time! They're really beautiful during the summer. It's quite difficult to give them the humidity and light they want over the winter. During the summer, let the soil mix dry out a little way down from the surface (more for a large plant, less for a small one) but don't let it get completely dry. If it's indoors, give it a little moring sun (not tight against a window, or the fronds will burn, but a little ways back.) If you put it outside, dappled sun/shade is good, like under a not-terribly-dense tree. Shelter it from the wind. Inside or out, the more humidity the better. I'd say be a little stingy with fertilizer. Organic fert. is good, as many ferns are sensitive to salts. If you use a typical "plant food" fertilizer, you might want to flush the pot thoroughly a few days later. If you can set the plant outside in a steady rain, that's a great way to flush the soil of salts.
Do try to keep your plant reasonably warm-- particularly when the fronds are wet. If it's out in the rain, it should be a warm rain, and the plant should have a chance to dry soon after-- not sit wet overnight.
Best of luck with your plant. They can be absolutely gorgeous things! Mine limps through winter and looks awful this time of year, but perks up when the days get warm and humid.

When I lived in Miami we went on fern exploration expeditions to the rainforests in the Dominican Republic and El Yunque, PR. Cyathea are incredibly beautiful tree ferns.

Folks, don't even think about it if you don't have a greenhouse, conservatory or live in So. Florida.

If plants could talk, surely there would be a society for the prevention of cruelty to plants.

Oh, I like that, greenscaper! Interesting how many people down here try to grow lilacs and tulips (well, they succeed with the tulips if they go through keeping them in the fridge for six weeks or so, and then throw them away after they bloom if we don't get an early warm spell, if you call that success!) So many plants will grow easily wherever you live--why don't we grow those?! (Pet peeve of mine, as you may be able to tell!)

I don't know-- a lot of the plants I enjoy most are challenging ones- not impossible to grow indoors, but a bit of work to get right. Having too many difficult ones would make the hobby too much like work, but if they were all a breeze to grow, I don't think I'd enjoy it as much either.
I guess if you think of plants as sentient, then you'd have a different moral dilemma- buying any houseplants would be encouraging a cruel branch of business.
I have a friend who buys orchids just for the flowers, and expects them to die after flowering. (They always meet her expectations!) She says, and rightly so, that box store Phals cost about the same as a bouquet of flowers, and they last much longer. Now to me that seems rather wasteful...but no more wasteful than throwing away perfectly good clothing because it has gone out of style, or buying shoes you only wear once.
Flash has already bought the tree fern; advice not to buy it is moot. Knowing they're difficult might help others who are considering buying them, but won't do much for Flash. With Midwestern summer's warmth and humidity, the plant should be fine for the next several months. It'll take some work to get it through winter, but it can be done.

Well, I got the wiggling, but can't quite tell what dance. ;-)

Australia has low phosphoros soils - remember this when you fertilise.

Flash, congrats on your new plant..I love the ATF. They are one of the loviest of ferns to grow.
I agree it'll be work in winter, but with some effort you can keep this beauty.
If you've a nice, bright, airy corner to set this plant in winter..away from a heating vent, it should do fine. The hard part is, spraying in the sink/shower at least once a wk and daily misting.
If you run a humidifer, the better. Also, I'd set a larger saucer w/pebbles and keep filled with water. Toni

I was planning on putting it in my garage in the winter, especialy if it eventialy gets 30 feet tall! (I doubt it will live that long)

Flash, don't be a pessimist. You never know..if you can keep a plant in the garage in winter, you might be surpried..How cold does it get there? Toni

This year it didn't get below 0F but we had a mild winter.

I have several tree ferns, including a Cyathea cooperi in a 5 gallon container. My tree ferns (most I've had for a couple years now) are growing well sitting on a large tray of wet pebbles, a fogger fountain (costs $30, wash out 1x month), in a large sheer-curtained west window. I keep them about 1 foot away from the window during the summer. Humidity is around 70%. A fan is on a timer to blow during mid-day for 4 hours, but not directly on them!

wow, tree ferns inside, never thought of that before.
Im not sure how much snow you guys get (ie days) or how many days below 0 you got... but trre fern do live (in australia) in places that regulally get snow. ANd in places that are quite cool ( ie regually below 0 celcius)... They do look pretty sad after snow, but great in the spring.
I think the Dicksonia antarctica (soft tree fern) is the one that can deal with colder tempuratures.

I agree that they are beautiful but also a challenge in the average home. I keep mine outside from about early April into the fall (depending on temperatures). This year it was outside well into December (and survived temperatures of about 28 F). Now I have it in a room crowed with palms and other ferns so it is quite humid. I know people will disagree with this--but I keep mine in a saucer which I try to keep filled with water. I disagree about letting them dry out. I have (repeatedly) found out the hard way that they have virtually NO tolerance for even remotely dry conditions. This time mine is surviving and growing!

Curling, browning, dying fronds. I have a tree fern in a container placed on a protected porch where it receives direct sunlight for a small portion of the day on the upper fronds. It has lived and thrived there for almost two years until now. It's grown to about 4' tall and the watering schedule has not changed. Anyone have some ideas as to what might cause this behavior?