Tree ferns in Texas? Houston?

[Chester B]

I have to ask but do any of the tree ferns survive Texas heat, specifically the Houston area.  I have grown D antarctica in the past and it did pretty well in the heat but it was only 30-40 days of 90+ heat, not 120 or more.  Even if it you could get one to survive in a shady spot, I would imagine it would need a hose down almost daily.  Any Cyathea out there?

[Austinpalm]

I tried a few tree ferns in Austin in protect places.  No luck keeping any alive.  Too hot for too long in the summer and sometimes too cold in the winter.  In Houston, you should be a little warmer and a little wetter.  So maybe something like Acrostichum, Angiopteris, Lophosoria, or one of the bigger Pteris might work for you in a wet and protected location.  Just a thought.  Good luck.  

[thyerr01]

I haven't seen either here, and freezes in winter will kill Cyathea/Sphaeropteris. D. antarctica will struggle in the heat. I'd like to try Alsophila australis - probably the best mix of heat/frost tolerance in a common species.

[Keys6505]

I had a D. Antarctica with a foot or 2 of trunk that was in the ground for 2 years that survived Palmageddon but sputtered out the following summer.  It always looked like crap in the heat.  I didn't know about crown watering at the time, so if I did it again I'd probably set up a dedicated drip line to hit the crewn a few times a day, but it looked so rough in the summer that I don't think I'd mess with it again.

[Chester B]

I figured it was an uphill battle, and probably not worth trying.  You might almost need like a grotto where water is constantly dripping and keep the immediate area shaded and cooler.

Thanks for all the info.

[Paradise Found]

The only way is to put up mister on all parts and top of tree fern and on a timer to come on every 20 minutes.  That’s how they grow tropical plants in the SW desert and California  desert resorts. But those places have lots of money to spend on water.  
and you all ready have high humidity so may not work for you.  
 

 

Edited March 2, 2024 by Paradise Found

[Silas_Sancona]

30 minutes ago, Paradise Found said:

The only way is to put up mister on all parts and top of tree fern and on a timer to come on every 20 minutes.  That’s how they grow tropical plants in the SW desert and California  desert resorts.

🤔 
Unless inside some sort of greenhouse- esque structure, no one grows tree ferns here, even at any of the resorts.  

Don't know a soul  who waters any " tropical " stuff like that here either.

Leaves / plant itself fry when even briefly exposed to our heat / consistently below 35% humidity on many days most of the year ..even in shade during the summer,  forget it  ..Without a greenhouse at least. 

Desert = Not a place for delicate things. 

[Paradise Found]

Check out this blogger in Glendale AZ using a misting system in his tropical desert garden. 
 

bradstopicalparadise.blogspot.com

hopw that works. 

[Paradise Found]

Also private resorts in Palm Springs for keeping people cooler in the hot desert I’ve seem used in gardens at these resorts and restaurants.  
look up palm spring misting companies it big business there. 

[Paradise Found]

7 minutes ago, Paradise Found said:

Check out this blogger in Glendale AZ using a misting system in his tropical desert garden. 
 

bradstopicalparadise.blogspot.com

hopw that works. Search this instead

using a misting system in your tropical desert garden

brads is down the page

 

[Paradise Found]

Here is two photos of tropical plants in Palm Springs   Yes there were no tree ferns 

[Silas_Sancona]

8 minutes ago, Paradise Found said:

Also private resorts in Palm Springs for keeping people cooler in the hot desert I’ve seem used in gardens at these resorts and restaurants.  
look up palm spring misting companies it big business there. 

Misters are a hot item here as well..  If the patio they're hanging over sits in sun,  they don't really take much edge off a 115F day..

Surfed over that guy's blog.. Aside from the Dioon / other less common Cycads he's growing,  lost all interest after seeing posts about fake grass, stuffing Petunias / Alyssum, Daffodils / Tulips  next to Agave..  oof


Curious about the posts on Fairy Shrimp / Triops though.

Rest of the plants pictured in his yard are grown in pretty much every yard here, w/ out needing misters.  No posts regarding  Plumeria Bursera, and / or Royal Poinciana, two Phoenix staples if going the tropical Desert route either.

People seem to think Phoenix and Palm Springs are exactly the same climate- wise..  Very different.   For whatever reason,  Palm Springs can get away w/ some stuff that gets absolutely slayed in the summer here.  As measly as it is compared to most areas of the U.S., we get much more rain here then they do out there most summers.

Palm springs pictures do demonstrate a fair point. If you have a long, shaded corridor like the one pictured, misters would help since the walls would block drying wind, holding the humidity provided by the misters. That said,  Real benefit is that the plants aren't sitting in sun for any length of time ( 6-10 hours of sun for instance )..  When it is overhead, the plants are still getting some shade from whatever is built overhead.

Majority of those plants are grown here, tucked into the right place,  w/ out misters as well.
 

[Paradise Found]

Point taken!!

maybe you can answer a question for me:  why don’t you see any tall mature phoenix palms (canary palm) in palm Springs?   smaller ones are here and there, but that’s it.  In some areas of california like riverside co,  they are not allow because of the agricultural date palms contamination. 

Edited March 3, 2024 by Paradise Found

[bar]

Take a trip over to the new Houston Botanical Garden.  They have been through the severe freeze several years back and you can see what has survived both that and the Houston summers. I don't recall if there were tree ferns there, but they grow an amazing variety of tropical plants.

Bruce

[Silas_Sancona]

2 hours ago, Paradise Found said:

 

maybe you can answer a question for me:  why don’t you see any tall mature phoenix palms (canary palm) in palm Springs?   smaller ones are here and there, but that’s it.  In some areas of california like riverside co,  they are not allow because of the agricultural date palms contamination. 

That's a good question..  Date plantations being in relatively close proximity  could be part of the reason for sure.. I saw several when doing a quick, street view search in a random neighborhood but didn't see a single " big " specimen ( ..Big = like what you see around San Jose / San Diego / San Fran.  )

Most look like the squat specimens i see around here..  Are some larger ones around town too,  but i wonder if Canaries don't excel in hot / really dry areas like us or Palm Springs ..preferring more moderate areas closer to the coast where the heat isn't as extreme / humidity is somewhat higher year round..  Can grow a lot of Orchids pretty easily there. 98% of the same hardy Orchids? not a chance / or gonna be a real challenge here unless you have the perfect set up. The shaded corridor shots would be an ideal set up for example.

Some bigger Canaries at Boyce Thompson, and down in Tucson ( esp. all over the U of A Campus ) , but ..if you look at those on Street View, they're skinnier / not quite as imposing in stature ( ...though still nice ) compared to the monsters i'd see / grew up around in the areas of CA mentioned / elsewhere out there.. 

I'll have to look over shots of the specimens at Boyce to gauge size again..  There, they're growing in a canyon / deep gravel flood plain of a large creek ( Queen Creek ). Canyon that Queen Creek runs thru funnels cooler air off the plateau areas east of Superior helping to moderate the temperature where the garden's main palm collection is located.

Head to other areas of the garden more removed from the canyon, you can feel the temp rise quite a bit / air feels drier, even though it isn't exactly humid where the palms are. 

 

[Paradise Found]

Thanks for responding very interesting 🤔 stuff.  More research on my part.  

Edited March 3, 2024 by Paradise Found

[Chester B]

12 hours ago, bar said:

Take a trip over to the new Houston Botanical Garden.  They have been through the severe freeze several years back and you can see what has survived both that and the Houston summers. I don't recall if there were tree ferns there, but they grow an amazing variety of tropical plants.

Bruce

Good idea.  I haven't been yet, only to The John Fairey Garden.