Muristek
Even cacti will thrive if you give them a half-decent chance
One of the most wonderful (and peculiar) things about gardening is the seemingly universal desire to defy climate to create landscapes that would be impossible in nature. While Singaporean gardeners flock to see cherry blossom trees flown in from the temperate regions of China and held in chilled glasshouses each “spring”, here in Blighty many of us pay absolute fortunes for exotic palms, which Singaporeans would wander past without a second look. Yet perhaps the most fascinating thing to me are the plants that we seem convinced are impossible to grow in our climate because of their “exotic” appearance when, in fact, they are really quite resilient.
A classic example is the Tasmanian tree fern, Dicksonia antarctica. These pricey specimens look so jungly that it is, indeed, hard to believe they could ever grow on our blustery north Atlantic islands. However, in their native habitat they experience winter temperatures that are largely comparable to the UK, and can often be even lower. Nine times out of 10 when I am shown tree ferns that have been proclaimed to be victims of winter cold, they show all the classic signs not of frost damage but severe and prolonged drought stress: thinning trunks, stunted canopies, desiccated growing points. Rainfall in their Tasmanian habitat can be as much as six times that of the levels in, say, southeast England, so without generous watering from gardeners I promise you it’s almost always thirst that spells doom for them, not cold.
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