We've got a couple Aspleniums at work that have trunks, though I'm not sure why them and not others: they all get more or less the same treatment. Could be something that just happens with age: some of our ferns have probably been in the greenhouse for a couple years or better. My co-worker has advised me not to bring in any tree ferns, regardless of the genus, on the grounds that they've never done well for long in the greenhouse. Which, granted, the greenhouse does get pretty hot sometimes, and maybe that's all it is, but the way she says it gives me the feeling that keeping a tree fern indoors is possible in the same way that living in a permanent base on Mars is possible: no laws of physics would have to be broken in order for it to happen, but one would basically have to have complete control of all aspects of the environment at all times to make it work. It's only thirdhand experience, granted, and not very specific at that, but the way she said it got me over any interest in owning a tree fern I might ever have had.

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.

Indoors air is usually quite dry and quite still. Having the plant in the direct sun behind glass is a bit harsh for it. And obviously there's not enough water. Put simply, the water in a plant 'inflates" the cells and causes rigidity (or technically speaking turgidity). Particularly in the new growth this keeps the plant upright. With a shortage of water the cells become deflated and sag. Provided you've got good drainage you need to increase the watering. By the way, there's more than a dozen "Australian Treeferns", Cyathea cooperi is just one of them.

An old thread, but since nobody gave suitable advice at the time I thought it best to sign off the discussion with some kind of resolution. The only tree fern families that can regenerate from decapitated trunks are some Dicksonia and Cibotium - sawn-off Cyatheas CAN'T regrow without their rootball, nor without their original crown. So, if you are intending to move Cyathea cooperi (often misnamed 'Australian Tree Fern' on the US gardening scene) there is only one realistic option: dig up as much surface root mat as possible (they are very shallow but wide rooters) and transplant in a new location. Maintaining extra moisture around the roots and to the side of the trunk is likely to be the key to a successful operation. That first season will be the high risk period. But it's NOT possible to extend an outgrown Cyathea cooperi's life in a restricted-height location simply by lopping it in half (and new crowns can never appear on the left-over bottom half either). No alternative but to start again with a new one. But at least cooperi are quick growing by tree fern standards. (If you ask me, they should have no place in Hawaii given the invasive threat they pose to the slower growing native tree fern habitats. Cherish your own endemic species and stick with those.) In contrast, both Dicksonia antarctica and all Hawaiian Cibotium 'Hapuu' varieties (four species, plus one naturally occuring hybrid) can either be transplanted whole, or regenerated in a prostrate position, or even decapitated and replanted at half the height. And yes, this time the left-over bottom half may well survive too, via its basal offsets or even via budding 'pups' which appear at almost any point along the trunk. Provided permanent moisture around the trunk is maintained during the season after the shock of the move - quite a commitment in a less than optimum site - they should in theory recover, building up a new root system inside a season. Steve Pope - Brighton, Sussex Coast, England, UK