Sustainable Saturday: DIY Staghorn Fern Mount
by
Mennlay Aggrey
(IC: blogger)
Staghorn ferns most commonly grow on and around other trees.The fern is native to tropical areas of West Africa, Australia, South America and Asia and thus perfect as a house plant. But if you live in a warmer more humid climate, keeping your fern outside might also be a great idea!
You can grow a staghorn fern for some time in a pot but these plants quickly overgrow the boundaries of a pot so it is best to mount the plant no longer than a year of having the plant. Like Orchids, staghorn ferns are epyphitic, meaning they grow on other plants, trees or objects. The reason they are typically mounted and wall hanging is that it more closely resembles their natural growing condition and gives them the best opportunity to thrive. So if you’re ready for an easy challenge, here’s what you’ll need to give your staghorn a new and happy home:
Potted Staghorn Fern (duh)
5. Now that your construction is complete you can move on to getting the fern onto the mount. (Sorry about the photos from here on out. My hands were dirty and it was hard to operate the camera and focus with one hand.) Take your fern out of its pot and remove any loose dirt from your potted plant making sure not to tear off any roots or any of its frods.
10. Once you’ve secured it onto the plaque of wood properly, tie the ends and generously mist the entire plant and moss. Attach your wood plaque to the wall or any place in your home where it gets bright indirect light. Voila, you have mounted a staghorn fern. Now that the plant is mounted, traditional methods of watering will be difficult. We recommend misting water once or every other day until your plant is well established. They enjoy a light feeding once a month and love!
Enjoyed the project?
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Published April 26th, 2014 4:33 PM
Comments
Join the conversation
5 comments
-
Douglas Hunt on Apr 27, 2014Love your step-by-step directions. Of course these get a little big for indoors down here in Florida!
- See 1 previous
-
-
Susan Mccarthy on Apr 27, 2014Mine is nearly as big as yours Douglas although I nearly lost it one year but it is back strong again.
-
Mennlay Aggrey on Apr 28, 2014@Susan Mccarthy - You and Douglas could probably start a staghorn nursery from those huge plants! :)
-
-
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Hi Mennlay,
I live in Ca and saw one of these plants in a shop near me. I'd like to send one as a gift to friends living in Brooklyn but the shop near me recommended I find a shop in Brooklyn to make sure it gets delivered living and well. Do you have any recommendations of plant shops who might have this type of fern (preferably already mounted) or other nice gift ideas? Thanks for any help you might be able to send! Marisa