General Description
Cooper's tree fern is a luscious, prehistoric-looking plant with magnificent large green fronds. This native of the coastal lowlands of eastern Australia loves moist friable soils and look its finest with high humidity and protection from cold or dry winds.
The amazingly large, triangular-shaped fronds are a beautiful light to medium green and can reach great lengths. Typically tree ferns grown outside of their native ranges have leaves that rarely reach any length beyond 8 ft/2.5 m., often much shorter. One of the most entertaining events in the life of a tree fern is the emergence and unfurling of new frond croziers, or fiddleheads.
Cooper's tree fern can tolerate full sun in areas with cooler summers, but in hot summer garden zones, it should have shade from the most intense midday sun. In fact, partial shade under a higher shade canopy produces elegant and lush fronds with ease.
If humidity is low, wetting the trunks and crown of the plant helps reduce leaf browning or slowing of new leaf emergence. Cultivar 'Brentwood' has leaves with a lighter green coloring, whereas 'Robusta' has darker green leaves. Take care to avoid getting any of the hairs of the trunk or frond stems on your skin or under your shirt, as they can lead to an unpleasant rash or at least an annoying and persistent need for itching.