i am no expert but judging from what i have observed from my own DAs its frost damage. if its a small DA under 1 foot trunk bring it in and keep it somwhere cool in the house in times of frost. i have lost three baby DAs to frost even when throughly packed and protected. hope that helps BTW i now grow my older ones in my indoor humidified fernery LOL

I have two tree ferns which were starting to shoot when we got that icy blast last April. The new growth was obviously burned black although the plant did try to grow these blackened stumps. All I have now is two plants which are looking very sorry for themselves, with the remnants of the growth in 2011, which I had left until they are now totally brown. Have I lost them do you think, or will they surprise me and 'regenerate' in the spring? We live in Cornwall which is pretty temperate and am hoping to take them with me when I move. Reading a post by footfullofbindis, they would appear to be pretty indistructible......but I'm unsure... I have had them 8 years and they have survived happily before.

DO NOT cut the fronds if they are still green it is possible to over-winter the fronds with adiquate protection the advice these wholesale companies give is awful if you can keep the fronds next years flush will be even bigger. how big is the trunk? is it potted with roots or a bare trunk with no roots? where was it bought? a nursery or a supermarket? i can be a bit more specific with some more info good luck with you first tree fern they can be a bit of an addiction i started off with a D.A and now have a collection of about 16 different species of dicksonia and cyathea Here is a link that might be useful: cold hardy treefern page

Ah! I new someone would set me straight. I mistakenly thought Dicks. Ant. was the Tasmanian Tree Fern. Now that I'm sure what it is, I can be sure I'm treating it properly. Love it! Thank you.