The first plant returns to the restored Palm Houses
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In a pleasing moment of symmetry, the last fern to leave the former Ferns & Fossils Glasshouse has become the very first plant to be welcomed into the newly restored Palm Houses.
Blume’s tree fern or Dicksonia blumei was removed from the Fernery for safekeeping in 2022, and cared for in a temporary home elsewhere in the Garden while the Palm Houses were being renovated.
Traditional horticultural skills, combined with innovative new techniques, enabled the Garden’s Horticulture team to keep the 3.5-metre-tall specimen alive and well.
Now, with renovation work complete, the elegant tree fern, known for its elegant, feathery fronds, is the first of 600 plants to be transplanted into the Palm Houses, making history as it beds down in its new, permanent location.
Watch the short film below, where Research and Collections Manager Sadie reflects on this milestone and demonstrates the careful technique used to move these remarkable plants
Watch
| Time | Description |
| 00:00 | This is a huge day. We have waited four years since the last plant came out of this space and we finally got one in, this is the very last plant actually that came out of our old fernery, it's the Dicksonia blumei and it is back in its rightful home. |
| 00:16 | It's quite a feat getting this plant in through the quite small door and then getting it upright again. But the guys have done a brilliant job. It's actually quite emotional because it's been a lot of planning, a huge amount of work in the process. Um, and I'm just very proud of the amazing horticulture team that have managed to keep this plant alive, keep it in really good condition, um, and now put it back in its home. |
| 00:42 | The brilliant team have managed to perfect this technique of bringing an upstanding tree fern through quite a narrow door, and then get it upright again. And it's just such a lovely fluid movement. Today was the very first one, and I think they've already perfected it, so I'm delighted. Uh, and we have another 40 to go, and we've got the the first one in before Christmas, which is superb. |
Discover more
- Moving our Living Collection
- Restoring the Palmhouses part 1
- Fighting plant disease
- Generating heat and power
- Saving the Tree Ferns
- Protecting endangered species
- Celebrating the Sabal palm
- Communicating the world of plants
- Restoring the Palm Houses
- Reducing our carbon footprint
- Conserving our Victorian ironwork
- Restoring the Palm Houses - part III