Redwood sorral, ferns, hellabore, My redwood drops a lot of leaves, but the hellabore does well.

Gary, that's very interesting. Do let me know if plugged drainage holes is causing your issue. Now that I've been misting the leaves, I have had 2 fronds unroll properly. So it does seem to be a lack of moisture in the right spot. Nativesandveggies, thanks for the info. I think that might be the issue that maybe they can't uptake all their water through the soil. I do want to get back to not needing to hand water. I think I'll switch to watering by hand as if it were a small sprinkler on the top of the trunk and see if that works. Would be quite possible to tap into one of the existing sprinkler lines and run one of those flexible hoses to a sprinkler affixed to the trunk. Sorry to hear that yours all died! They are so gorgeous, really do want to get conditions right for it. But a plant that needs daily hand watering won't last long term, so I have to try to figure out a more automated way to care for it=)

Very excited, just bought a Dicksonia antarctica too! I asked at the nursery if they had any in stock. The main owner wasn't in and so I described what they looked like to the assistant and she responded with a little excitement too as she guided me towards their 'private' poly tunnel where they keep plants that aren't at their 'showy best'. I was trying not to show too much glee at seeing the very wide stump in the large pot in front of me and so commented negatively on the few tatty fronds that remained on the plant. The assistant rang the owner and he asked for 30 pounds. I genuinely only had 20 pounds in my wallet as I wasn't intending to buy anything until I had fixed the garden first. They accepted and I brought my new baby home! I hadn't given it too much of an examination in the nursery aside from checking for new growth (of which there were new fronds just about to make a break for daylight), but as soon as I got it home I realised why the plant looked so wide... It was two!!! The larger trunk is around a foot tall and the smaller trunk is around 8 inches. BARGAIN ALERT!! The largest remaining frond is easily 30-36" long. A good watering of the crown washed away some of the brown fur and fully revealed very prominent new growth. Upon my discovery I did wonder if to separate the two plants but I have now just about decided to keep them together to form a more bushy tree. When I am ready to plant them in the garden I may take a look at the roots to see just how entwined they are and let that be the decider. Any comments on this? As you may be able to see from the photos, the area where they are going to be planted does look quite flooded after heavy rain. This soil has not been forked for many years and it is hoped that doing so (and raising the earth to a slight mound will help drainage sufficiently. Is there anything else I can do to assist drainage or do you think the ferns will be okay? Here is a link that might be useful: Pics of my tree fern(s)!

Unless you are a weightlifter, I'd engage the services of a friend or relative. A six footer is gonna be heavy!!