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How to Mount a Staghorn Fern (Platycerium)
Platycerium, commonly called staghorn fern, grows on trees and rocks in the wild, so a board mount is the closest thing to home. Here is how we mount Platycerium in our greenhouse, step by step.
Why mount a Platycerium?
Platycerium is an epiphyte. Its round shield fronds wrap over the roots and the growing medium, store water, and catch falling organic matter. On a board, the plant can grow the way it does on a tree: the shield fronds climb over the edge of the mount, the roots get the air they need, and water drains straight through. Pots and hanging baskets work too, but a mount gives the shield fronds room to spread. Parts of the Platycerium explains what each frond does.
What you need
- A board that drains and breathes. Weathered hardwood or bark both work. Clean it before you start.
- Sphagnum moss or shredded bark as the substrate under the plant.
- Something to tie with: fishing line, plastic mesh or nylon.
- Optional: a few slow-release fertiliser pellets to tuck under the plant.
Never use copper wire. Copper is toxic to ferns. Never use soil either: it holds too much water and kills the roots.
Mounting, step by step
- Prepare the board. Clean it before you start.
- Make a bed of moss. Lay a mound of moist sphagnum moss or shredded bark on the board where the plant will sit.
- Feed now or later, not both. If you use slow-release pellets, put a few under the plant now. Otherwise skip them and give a weak liquid feed later, while the plant is growing.
- Place the plant. Set the plant on the moss and add more around the edges so the roots are covered.
- Tie it down over the old brown shield fronds. Run the line across the brown, papery shield fronds, never across green ones, which bruise easily. Tie firmly enough that the plant does not rock.
- Soak and hang. Soak the whole mount until the moss is fully wet, let it drain, and hang it in bright, diffused light.
Watering a mounted plant
Water when the moss surface is dry and the mount feels light when you lift it. Soak the whole mount until the moss is fully wet. Aim the water at the medium, not into the fronds: water trapped between the shield fronds causes rot. Water in the morning so the plant dries before night. Small mounts dry out faster than large ones, so check them more often. The care quick reference has a rough watering schedule.
When to move up a size
When the shield fronds reach the edge of the board, move the plant to a bigger one. Leave the old brown shield fronds in place when you do. They protect the roots and hold water, and the new ties go over them, not over green fronds. Large species such as P. grande, P. superbum and P. wandae need a large board from the start (see giant staghorn ferns).
What we don't recommend
- Soil. It stays too wet and the roots die.
- Ball mounts. They are hard to soak through, and once soaked they stay too wet for the roots to breathe.
- Copper wire. Copper is toxic to ferns.
- Mounting a plant that has just arrived. Let a newly shipped plant settle in a pot for two weeks first. See staghorn ferns after shipping.
Mounting a pup
A pup cut from a pup-forming plant is mounted the same way, on a smaller board. Wait until the pup's own shield frond is about 5–7 cm across before you cut it. After mounting, keep it in bright shade with high humidity until it roots in. See staghorn fern pups and dividing.
Keep reading
Looking for plants? See Platycerium by type, with mother-plant photos, or the full availability list.
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