Help, what to do with staghorn fern.

My friend gave me a piece from his staghorn. What is the best way to "pot" it. Should I tie it to a piece of wood, put it in a wire basket? Not sure what would be best for the long term. Thanks.

Here is the back of it. It has some soil on it.

do you have a tree you can put it in? if they can attach to a tree, they really don't need to be in a pot. in your zone though, you'll probably have to bring it in for the winter. you can get some of that "corky" bark, i've forgotten what you call it, and tie it to that. i've seen them in wire baskets too.

Your right about me having to take it in for winter. If I put it in a wire basket what do I fill the basket with? Something like orchid mix? Also if I do use orchid mix do I put the piece of stag horn in the center of the basket with the orchid mix around it or should I put it to one side? Hope that makes sense. Sorry for all the questions I just don't want to kill it.

i think you should ask someone on the tropical forum. we always just hang them in the trees and we got ours when they were bigger to begin with. then you just drive a metal rod through them with a big washer on the bottom and an eye hook on top and hang them that way. i had one years ago that i put in a big nylon fish net (deep sea type) and hung it that way. when they are little, i think spagnum moss or the orchid mix would work fine, but to get the right angle on it (middle or side), someone else is out there who knows way more than me. sorry i'm not more help.

Oh you have helped. I'll ask over there too though. Thanks.

You could put it in a moss lined hanging basket. It will eventually fill the entire basket and cover up wire and moss.

Here is a huge one at Fairchild Tropical Gardens, Miami which was hung using chains.

When it get's established, give it a little ripe bananas and beer! Sounds strange, but it works!

Good Luck
Kat

I'm going to find a wire basket for it Monday and some moss.
That huge one is awesome. I've heard they like bananas but didn't know about the beer. I'll give it some when it comes of age. :)
Thanks!

Here is mine 3 years ago hanging from a tree and you can see it completely covered the wire basket. I started this from a very small start a few years earlier. It got so heavy that the wire hanger finally broke last year and I have to put it on the ground now.

Wow hcmcdole, yours is very nice. Did you use spagnum moss in the basket with it when you first started? Also, did you feed it when it was small or just water it? Yours seems very happy.

i always sprayed mine with a little peters or miracle gro every so often. these take what they need from nature for the most part though. i did mist when i thought of it!

I used sheet moss to line a wire basket then put in a mix of good potting soil and Perlite. I placed the plant in the middle of the pot and let it do the rest. To speed up the process you could get more little plants and poke them through the sides or just be patient.

I rarely fertilize it. If I am using a hose end sprayer with fertilizer then it might get some. The nice thing is they are fairly drought resistant. They become very heavy if you soak them (just like a sponge).

Here is the same plant last year on the ground due to the wire being broken. Maybe this winter I will add a new hook.

Thanks everybody. That's good information. I'm going to get it set up tomorrow when I'm off.

if you can them, (my nursery carries them), they make a really nice rubber-coated metal hanging basket lined with coir. they are much sturdier than the usual hanging baskets. i've got a very heavy walking iris in one and it's holding up beautifully. of course, once a staghorn reaches big proportions, it ain't gonna work! LOL

trackinsand, I've seen those. They do look sturdy. I'll see if I can find one. I would like it to last as long as possible.