Can you cut the old basket away, Michelle, and then mount your staghorn on a slab of wood or a much larger (and sturdier) basket. You'll want to place a small mound of organic growing material on the new slab and make sure the old growing material (and the basal fronds) are in touch with that. For tips, see this link from the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service. When choosing you new mounting medium, keep in mind how large these ferns can get. Good luck!
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Thank you for the suggestions but this doesn't answer my question because I do really want to put it in a larger basket but I'm just not sure how to increase the basket size without damaging the fronds on the bottom.
You mean fronds are growing out of the bottom of the basket? If you cut the old basket away, couldn't you feed the fronds through the bottom of the new basket? Perhaps a photo would help.
Michele L, could you post a picture? My 87 year old friend has a beautiful staghorn she has has for over 10 years. It is still in the same container it started in and is doing beautiful. She hangs it in a shaded area (on a big tree). No outgrowing anything.
i lost my usb to add pics to my computer. trying to figure out another way to get one on here. I may share pic with facebook and then save to puter. will let you know if it works. thanks for all your responses.
Heck Michele l, your plant looks beautiful & healthy. I haven't seen my friend's plant in awhile so I'll just walk across the street & take a look and report back soon.
mine is only two years old. I started it with just two pieces taken off of a much larger one. I am quite proud of it. I also recently read that the brown on the backs of the fronds are actually spores that I can use to start new plants. I'll have to read up some more about it. Worth a try. Thank you Sherrie S.
Michele L, I went to my neighbor's house & looked closely at her 10+ year old staghorn. It grows how it wants to grow and is healthy & beautiful like yours. She never cut or replanted it from the original container. It lives in a tree and doesn't want any changes. My final answer is: Let it be, let it be, let it be................>
Michele L, I went to the house of my friend. Her plant is growing just like yours but hers has been doing that for over 10 years. It is more beautiful than ever without changing the container. Leave yours as it is, don't do anything.
Michelle, I have a large one in a basket that probably isn't that much larger than yours. I just have the basket hanging in a tree (one loop of chain over each end) and am letting it go.
Thanks for answering me. I guess I will just let it continue as is for a while. I DO want to try to propagate from the spores. That will be my next project.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg015