thanks for the info, everyone. I've been giving it lots of drinks. It is less hot today and looking less sickly. hoovb, thanks for posting the photos of your beautiful trees. They are huge, and I wasn't aware they get that big. I'm pretty annoyed that my landscape designer would put it there knowing this gets big. Here's a wider shot of the front. As you can see, the fern tree is right next to the garage, so we have to back our car out right next to it. My car already sort of brushes up against it when I back out. I'm in agreement with you all it needs moved. Any thoughts on what we should replace it with? Something that has some height? The spot gets mostly shade/dappled sun.

If only you guys could see the back of Lumahai Valley in person, you would be astounded and alarmed at just how many there are! These ferns are bad- on par with miconia if not worse because they are spread by spore. The future forests of Kauai and probably all the islands will have no shortage of these ferns. Sadly, they can form near monotypic stands where the massive amounds of leaf litter from fallen fronds smother most understory life and create much debris (and far more than the Hapu'u). Perhaps if they cut most, if not all, the tree ferns down in peoples Kona yards, they could buy a few decades. I have seen them popping up on the Hilo side even in remote areas. Once I noticed one while in the Hapu'u forests. You can kill them by dicing up the growing top. Make sure you chop down until you get in the core. I disagree with feral ungulates carrying spores (The spores are everywhere in the air) but do notice that open dirt, as found in pig diggings, under houses, and in yards raked to the dirt, tend to have more seedlings coming in. They are extremely- and I repeat- extremely shade tolerant. I have them growing under my house among other places. They are easily distinguished from Hapu'u once you get the eye for it.

I read in Northern Gardener about a gardener who overwinters Australian tree ferns in his basement. Has anyone tried this with success?

Yes you can cut a Cyathea cooperii off if it gets too tall. Keep the top plus enough of the top trunk to replant at the height you want plus half a metre to be buried in soil. . The bottom part will not regenerate and needs to be removed. Trim back the old fronds being carefull not to damage the new unfurling ones. Replant in fresh slightly acid soil, give it some organic fertilizer, water the trunk and base well but not the fronds. Make sure there is adequate drainage. give the plant some dappled shade if you can.