Staghorn Fern Care (Platycerium bifurcatum)

[@acools07]

One of the most I formative short videos on this plant I have seen. I just bought my first one and am getting ready to mount it!

[@abmoralesrosado]

Thank you for the hands on! Everyone talks but no one shows how to drench them, how much light it really needs. Seeing it has helped me tremendously. Thank you again!

[@vickykent353]

Wow! Darrell. Fantastic video. By far, the most informative video and article on growing staghorn ferns I've seen to date. Thank you so much. ❤

[@HousePlantJournal]

Thank you! I'm glad you found it helpful! Good luck on your staghorn fern journey!

[@vickykent353]

@HousePlantJournal Thanks 😊 I plan on mounting a good-sized one very soon. I found some gorgeous moss in the woods very close by and found out how to preserve it. I already collected some nice bark, too. I wish I could post a photo of it when it's completed.

[@soiledpetals]

So glad I found you! I just got a staghorn fern and need to mount it soon. The nursery I got it from had a huge staghorn that was over 30 years old!

[@rlagoy]

I have one SE window shielded by a large tree which doesn't provide enough light to grow a moss ball! I love the staghorn fern and decided to experiment. I bought a 2 inch staghorn fern July 2019 and it has been growing it in a orchid pot (filled with 45 % orchid bark, 45% sphagnum moss and 10% organic soil) under 2 grow lights (two inches away @ 14 hours a day) and it is now in a six inch pot.- with four frontal fronds--it is beautiful! Every two weeks I fertilized it with organic air plant fertilizer, mist every single day. If it continues to thrive, I'll l need to repot in the spring. I hope it grows to half the size of your fern. It is beautiful! I enjoy your informative videos. I also watched your maidenhair fern and following your advice.

[@HousePlantJournal]

Light is the prerequisite for plant life. When you use grow lights, you are enabling that plant to grow anywhere! I love grow lights! What kind are you using?

[@shoulders-of-giants]

That was a great show & tell. Thank you Deryll!

[@Judy122550]

hello I am anew subscriber I saw you on "Clean My Space" My name is Judy I love in North Eastern Pennsylvania . My Mom will be 90 & she has what we call a green thumb, everything grows beautifully for her. Thank you for your video of this plant I never saw this plant before. Have a good forth coming week ( Judy )

[@robmontgomery9711]

this was exactly what i needed to know! i went through many others before yours...thank you! i needed to know how the shield part grew, so that was awesome to see in timelapse@!

[@suewillman26]

I'm a new subscriber having watched your maidenhair fern video and this one. You explain things very clearly, and your plants look great. I've had two staghorn ferns, never mounted them, and I see now not enough light was a problem, as well. Looking forward to more of your plant wisdom.

[@HousePlantJournal]

Thank you very much! I'm glad you found it helpful! I wrote a book on house plant care with this same type of clear explanation style! Feel free to check it out: "The New Plant Parent" - available wherever books are sold :D

[@tiadrumgold4702]

Just mounted my first staghorn. So excited to see her growth. From your lighting tips reconsidering where to hang her.

[@canterburyjhiguma8387]

Very surprised those pots with the vertical blueish fronds we find all over the nurseries do turn in the end into a "normal"-looking bifurcatum. I would have doubted you they were the same plant until I saw the videos and all the pics. Congratulations. I have one of those pots transferred into a vanda basket, 4 months already (winter though) and it is still looking dreadfully unchanged.

[@mrparts]

They’re just juvenile plants. As they mature they grow bigger and more distinctive fronds.

[@augustwestusa]

I noticed my staghorn wasn't doing well (only had it for one year) so I pulled it down from it's spot (probably didn't like that spot) and I remounted it (thought maybe didn't like the wood!) and noticed this white powdery substance underneath and on top of the leaves....I thought it must be a fungus! But now I think it's what is called trichomes? I wiped off all the white stuff sprayed it down with anti fungal spray! All the leaves are yellow and brown at the edges and it's not a happy plant! ugh. I hope I didn't ruin it! I hope it will come back to life! Thanks for your help!

[@shoulders-of-giants]

Could you make a video on your shelf and the LED light above it?

[@libragirl2250]

Thank you Darryl four great advice and knowledge💕🍀🍀🍀💚💚💚💚💚

[@patriciaenglish1113]

I love your videos and glad I found you. I am getting ready to divide and repot. It is about 4’ long & weighs a ton. Due to space I have it in a basket. Would you just throw it in the basket and hang as usual? Or turn the basket sideways and orient the growth as if it was mounted? Thank you!

[@MrPinguinitofeliz]

Love that intro

[@katie4996]

Ok I have a few questions. 1. Would this live happily by a north east facing window? 2. Will the moisture from the board ruin my walls?

[@IndigenousPathways]

Thank you so very much for sharing your wisdom! My plant seems to have picked up Rhizoctonia (small black spots), so I need to stop watering it for a while and probably apply a fungicide. Would you have any recommendations to treat the fungus issue? Thanks again.

[@georgetansimpson]

I'm having the same issue- wondering what you did and if your treatment was successful? I'm having a hard time finding good comparative resources

[@IndigenousPathways]

@@georgetansimpson Unfortunately I was not able to resolve the issue with the small black spots and the plant withered away. Wishing you a better outcome than I had.

[@vickykent353]

​@@IndigenousPathways😢 that's sad. I know that had to have hurt.

[@IndigenousPathways]

@@vickykent353 sometimes we try to grow plants that are not well suited for the environment that we live in. I have found it is best to choose plants that will thrive in the local environment and let go of plants that will not.

[@mrparts]

Nice video. Because of their light requirements, I don’t think staghorns should be considered as easy indoor houseplants. They’re more of a porch./ patio /atrium/ skylight plant because they need so much light to thrive

[@karenm5129]

I recently received a staghorn mount that is still pretty juvenile…the shield fronds are small (the size at the beginning of your time lapse), but the edges are browning. Is this normal or signs of under watering? I imagine it is too early for the shield fronds to be doing this at its size. When I am unsure about the moisture in the medium (when it has been less than a week since its last watering), I have opted to increase the humidity in its environment. Also, is spraying the foliage a no-no? I’ve read that the leaves themselves, the fertile ones especially should be untouched. Sorry if this is a lot, I swear I’m not trying to be a typical Karen. Love your videos.

[@vickykent353]

😅

[@mightiestmouse8833]

How old is that guy? Absolutely stunning!

[@janecristino4196]

Hi Daryl, how did you get if off the hard plastic mesh without ripping the roots? It was grown like so when I got it. My shield frond has attached to the mesh and the roots also and extended all the way to the back. I would like to mount it on wood and I couldn't find any info on how to remove it from the mesh?

[@HousePlantJournal]

When I re-mounted the staghorn, I completely ripped it from the old board - the roots ripped pieces of the wood off! The plastic mesh is still lodged within the old shield fronds to this day. As long as your light is adequate, the staghorn is a super tough plant.

[@janecristino4196]

@@HousePlantJournal Thank you. It seems there is no taking that plastic thing off my stag too.

[@seksualusis]

Destroy the mesh by careful cutting off.

[@hollybeck605]

Would you say you water yours once a week? Since mounting mine I'm struggling a bit. It was absolutely thriving in a pot. I think my problem is it's drying out a lot faster now that it's mounted. I'm thinking maybe I need to cut it down and add extra moss for added water retention. I thought once a week watering was going to be fine but it seems like it dries out much more quickly than that. Thanks!

[@HousePlantJournal]

The best approach to watering is to observe the dryness of the planting medium - no need to rationalize based on a schedule. Water when the moss is mostly dry - if that happens in a few days, then you will be watering every few days. Adding a larger volume of moss will help to store more water. But remember that all of this must be in balance with the right light.

[@sylviavanleer210]

I have a staghorn fern that was remounted onto a board by a gentleman at a nursery, however, it looks all wilty and limp! How do I make it look healthy again?

[@sylviavanleer210]

The two I mounted myself look great!

[@HousePlantJournal]

When you first mount a staghorn, the root system might take a few weeks to re-establish itself. During that time, the overall plant will look droopier than normal. Ensure it has the best possible light and that you are completely soaking the planting medium whenever it's time to water it.

[@OlgaAnoshyna]

oh god, I hoped so much since it's a fern it won't need too much light... so can lack of light be the reason that that the new "leaves" become yellow? ((

[@HousePlantJournal]

"Lack of light" is such a fundamental issue that it will manifest as a whole range of problems. Without adequate light (and when I say "light", I don't just mean direct sun; "bright indirect light" means your plant has a wide unobstructed view of the open sky), your plant is basically starving to produce food for itself. On the other hand, even with adequate light and other care aspects taken care of, older leaves will still yellow and fall off.

[@OlgaAnoshyna]

@@HousePlantJournal well, the problem is that not old, but new leaves become yellow. Looking for a better place for it now, thx so much!

[@HousePlantJournal]

@@OlgaAnoshyna when newest leaves start off yellower, then it could be a nutrient deficiency. If you'd like me to take a look, send me an email with photos and I'll do my best to help! [e-mail]

[@Alypinkflower]

what about temp-wise??? Thnx in advance D

[@HousePlantJournal]

Comfortable indoor temperatures are fine.

[@Spaceranger3]

Lol who is waving in the background at the end?

[@HousePlantJournal]

Hehe, that's my wife.

[@gabumonboys]

My fern gets a lot of bright indirect light, but the plant has grown only 1 new vertical leaf since I got it about 5 months ago. Any idea on why it's not growing??

[@HousePlantJournal]

Define "a lot of bright indirect light" - ideally with foot-candles/lux/PPFD. Either way, indoors, these plants don't grow all that fast. One new frond in 5 months sounds fine. If you want faster, you'll need light levels above 800 foot-candles for most of the day and probably temperatures in the 80s F (high 20s in C)

[@gabumonboys]

@@HousePlantJournal I don't have anything to measure the light, but it is a south facing window (northern hemisphere) that is partly shaded by a bush. It is so bright in my room, that I never turn on the main ceiling light, but I do use lamps at night.

[@mrparts]

What your eyes see as “bright indirect light” can still be very dark for a plant. Eye perception of brightness is very inaccurate to assess light levels. Your staghorn will not grow until it gets like 300 fc for 10 hours a day..

[@gabumonboys]

@@mrparts I figured it out. I mounted my fern to this HUGE planter that was full of soil, and my watering regiment was super whack. I remounted it to a log with some sphagnum moss and it has started growing very well. Nothing to do with the light lmao.

[@mrparts]

@@gabumonboys that’s great news!

[@Yukooooo2000]

Hi my staghone fern is in 4inch pot. I was just noticed that it’s in white mesh type of thing. Should I keep them or not? and brown tips... Some of leaf falls off Any advice please Thanks

[@HousePlantJournal]

You can probably take it out of the white mesh. You can see from my plant that there are brown tips and plenty of leaves have fallen off in the past (and continue to do so). Ensure you have the best light situation, water accordingly, and let Nature take its course. Leaves don't stay on plants forever.

[@romysharma6260]

My staghorn fern leaves are becoming brown. Why I do not understand. Can anybody help me .watering is not problem.

[@HousePlantJournal]

Show me: [e-mail]

[@ant11368]

I have a stag horn that’s growing really well mounted in a flat swing basket but which has barely made any shield shield fronds. Is there a reason for this?

[@HousePlantJournal]

When I first mounted my staghorn fern, it took almost 8 months before a new shield frond started to grow. If your light situation is good and you are watering accordingly, then be patient :)