Question
hey i have 4 man ferns that don't have any ferns growing i was told to pull it out of the ground and cut the bottom and the top off and then replant it ,is this true ?? or is there another way please write back i need to no

Answer
Your evergreen Man Fern -- "Dicksonia antarctica" to botanists -- is a hugely popular tree fern from the tropics and the one most often grown as a houseplant.  It needs rich, healthy, organic soil and, thanks to their rainforest jungle ancestry, lots of rain.

But its growth is painfully slow.  Under the most perfect conditions, it will get 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches taller in a year.

So it is possible, Carla, that this plant is growing -- but you can't tell.  Transplanting it will make no difference whatsoever in the growth rate.  These ferns just will not be rushed.  They have all the time in the world.

If you feel you want to tackle this little project, you should understand a few basic things about tree ferns.

Flowering plants have a wood stem or trunk that gets harder as they get older.  The trunk of a tree fern, on the other hand, is made of its thick, tough roots.  The roots increase and expand as the fern gets older, and the trunk gets thicker as that happens.  Botanists don't even like to call this a "trunk".  They call it a "rhizome".  New fronds grow from the top center.

With some tree ferns -- yours included -- you can cut the upper section off and plant in a new pot of soil.  This will often, not always, successfully produce a new plant.  Kept constantly damp, that new fern will SLOWLY develop new roots.  And I do mean slow.  It could take a year to show results.  How old will you be when you can re-pot this plant?  Answer: Never.

Maybe this is not the fern for you?

Maybe it is.

Let me know.  I'll guide you step by step.