Hello. Please let me know if I need to post this somewhere else. I am new at this and I would appreciate any constructive criticism/feedback. A neighbor gave me a Staghorn Fern last year and it was in a fairly good health, besides the fact it's not very pleasant to look at. A friend gave it to them about 13 years ago and they just left it in a pot (the same pot it is in now). I know I could mount it, but right now it seems impossible because of its "growth" and I'm afraid I'd kill it. I don't know what the growth is called... I would like to re pot it (carefully) and help it look better because right now, the leaves break. How do I go about doing this? Help me, please!
Ok first of all Staghorns rarly need repotting because they are air rooters the roots are manely used to anchor the plant to a pieceof wood, bark etc. Yours looks like it needs watering I strongly suggest rainwater or distilled because they are sensitive to the salts in tap water, also they do not like to be misted because they have fuzzy leaves, indirect sun, lots of humidity (mine is doing great in my bathroom) and keep the soil moist. Manny people think that they can only grow if there mounted on something but not true I've had mine for years and its doing fine Good Luck
Thank you. I had been meaning to respond but hadn't found the time until now. I actually just want to repot/restart the plant, whichever is the easiest and the best for what I want. It's starting to look hideous with the huge "foot" at the bottom (sticking out of the pot, like I said) and the leaves have all broken since they're really long. I was looking for a way to restart it by cutting up the "pups" that might spring up (and I have been seeing them pop up lately) so I can get rid of the "foot". I wish I could explain better what the "foot" is --- it's the plant, fronds, whatever, that had started to wrap around itself. I've done some reading and I've found that I could cut the piece I want to start with and get rid of the foot. Thank you for the info, though. :) I'll post pictures of the outcome.
I'd like to know how that works for you I've never removed the "foot" on mine,cause I thought you should'nt,do let me know if that works ok.
Ditto heli's last post: this approach seems pretty drastic. I have a staghorn (about 5 years old) in a hanging basket, fiber bowl in open wire frame, where it has done well. Have learned through experience that mine likes to be fairly dry, especially in winter---in its previous clay pot, over-generosity with the water led to fungal growth that took a while to eradicate. Bright curtain-filtered light in winter: in summer it hangs in dappled shade, and gets more frequent watering. Your staghorn does look as if it would benefit from a repotting, a bit more light and moisture, and being put in a spot where its fronds can hang freely.
Ok, I'm convinced... I will not cut it off and rid of the "foot." By the way, as I have read, the "foot" I'm talking about is many, many years of basal frond growth that have wrapped itself. (You don't see it like this because most people 'hang' their Stag, and usually the basal fronds look flat, and mine looks like a foot.) Here's what I will do: I will just transplant it into a nicer pot and probably create something that will help its leaves hang freely and not break off. Right now, the new leaves grow straight up and then break in half because they're too heavy. The plant is located between the back (glass) door and a huge window, so there's light coming in from both side, but not directly on it. So far it's been the best place for it since it's had more forial frond growth since I placed it a few months ago. I water it once a week and when leaves fall off of my other plants (dracaenas?), I place it on top of the base. Seems silly, and I don't know why I do it... LOL Ok, thanks guys. Can't wait to repot it!
Also what you could do as far as the leaves being to heavy and brittle go is to maybe support them some how by using a decorative stake or somethhing out of nature herself like I have used a pine cone at times because their light weight and won't cause to much weight on the foot plus they allow air flow.
Ugh! I haven't had the time to do anything with the staghorn fern and I had repotted most of my plants tonight. The last one I'll do is probably the stag. That reminds me, Heli... is it a staghorn fern or an elkhorn fern?! I don't know the difference and they both similar to me in pictures... >_<
You know, to be honest I don't know the difference either. I wonder though if the staghorn is bigger maybe? That will be a good one to Google.
Ok I'm back, so far everything I've looked at says that they are one and the same!Saw some awsome pictures of some that were just huge! 6'x6' or bigger so keep working with that one there supposed to be pretty resilent. :)
