A Staghorn Setback - August 2022

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Back at the end of February, I started to explore how to mount Staghorn Ferns to boards and even gave a few away as gifts.  I ended up keeping a few for myself and I wanted to put in an entry in the Staghorn Diary on the current state.  Below, you can see a photo of the one, larger Staghorn that is mounted to a flat board:


Notably....it is NOT happy.  It is NOT thriving.  But, it is alive.  And has survived a battle with MOLD and moisture.  It has lost fronds.  Most of the tips have browned-up and curled.  But...we might have turned a corner.  We *might* have new growth emerging.  I dreamed of a life of Staghorn Ferns in our screened porch.  And this first year?  It has been rough.

The interesting part is that the Staghorn that I gave my Mom?  It is thriving.  She has it laying on its back in a sunny, Western-exposure window.  

I had a second, mounted fern (tiny) that has totally died.  I'm now left with two ferns in containers (left as a sort-of hedge) that I think I should try to mount and see if I can get 'right'.

Below are those two.  First, the original fern in the clay pot.  Then the other pot-bound one from this Spring/.  The one in the clay pot is on our front porch and is NOT showing much new growth.  While the second one is on our screened porch and has new pups.


My 2022 to-do list was to do more with houseplants - including mounting these.  Have to get those done before the end of the season.  

Location: Downers Grove, IL, USA

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