Staghorn Fern (Platycerium superbum)

[tom_e_boi]

I just wanted to share my little project with the rest of the group. Orchids are my primary hobby, but I also love to grow other unique plant species. I owned a few staghorn ferns several years ago, but they unfortunately got left outside one night and the cold killed them.

Well, since my reintroduction back into growing orchids this year, I've rekindled my interest in growing staghorn ferns again too. But instead of just buying the mature plants, I decided to try and grow them from spores. I figured it would be a far more interesting and scenic route to go, and more of a challenge for me. At the very least, something that I could learn from.

I bought the spores from an Australian seller on eBay, for only a couple bucks. Then, I studied up on them, before starting. I simply used a disposable container from my local SuperCenter's deli, and some of my Miracle Gro Orchid potting mix (which looks more like soil, than orchid potting mix, lol). Even tho the instructions said to use peat moss. I mixed the potting mix in the container with some of my collected rainwater and microwaved it twice to kill off anything that may have already been in it. After letting it cool off to room temperature, I sprinkled about half of the package of spores onto the surface and watered it with some more rainwater. I used only half, just in case something went wrong, then at least I'd have some to fall back on and try again with. After that, I closed the lid up and placed it in a shady location, after it warmed up outside. I left it alone after that and only checked up on it and mist it with rainwater when needed. Now it's been about a month later, and noticed the tiny little gametophytes have finally started to grow.

I'm venturing into new territory, and so far I'm learning alot from it. For one thing, I learned just how big this particular species (superbum) can get, which is very big. I've posted a picture of a large mature plant, along with a pic of my little container. It takes a few years for them to grow into their mature form. So I have until then to figure out what to do with such a large plant.

From what I can tell, the gametophytes can produce many little baby ferns, so I'll have more than I know what to do with (from what I've read, lol...). So maybe I'll place some up for sale on here, once they're big enough to sale. I don't know how much they would sell for, but I'll sell them pretty cheap. Because I'm not really looking to profit from them. More just to fund my main hobby, which is growing orchids. Perhaps I could trade them with other members for something else, if anyone is interested. I'm just running thru some ideas, since this is all new for me. If anybody else has any ideas, or tips, I would love to hear them.

Well, that's all I have for now, and I look forward to posting updates of how my little project is going.