Staghorn Fern problem

I have a staghorn fern that I've had for a couple of years. It was doing fine, but after bringing it in for the winter I think it's been too waterlogged. Some of the antlers are falling off at the center and the only thing that looks wrong is the tip that connects the antler is small and brown. The actual leaf looks okay. Another thing - the white "fuzzy-stuff" that covers the leaves - for some reason all of a sudden it appears more like large white specks instead. Any ideas? And if it is indeed waterlogged, is there anything I can use to stop the rot? It's still putting on (slowly) the sterile pods. any help would be much appreciated! I've attached a couple of pics (first time at the picture thing - not sure how helpful they will be!)

First just to be clear---the "fuzzy stuff" on the leaves is not mealy bugs right? The fronds are naturally slightly hairy/fuzzy---the underside hair tends to wear off as a frond ages---and I've never felt that the natural fuzz was white. So make sure you haven't got a mealy bug infestation. Anyway---I'd say cut back on the water and let the plant dry out some. In the winter I really keep my P.bifurcatum, the most common species, quite dry, it withstands cold better dry. In cool/cold weather the growth rate slows way down and the plant will naturally drop some leaves. It should begin to grow again when the weather warms and the daylight lengthens.

Definitly check to make sure it's not mealy bugs. If they are get warm water and a sponge and wipe every leaf down until all gone. Then keep an eye out for more. Once out side give it a good washing and spraying with some neem oil.

I'm sorry I've been outside pretty much constantly since I asked my question! the same evening I'd asked the question, my husband made a comment about how cold it was in the back room where I over-winter some of my plants. I moved the plant to a warmer spot and it seems to be doing much better. I will check for mealy bugs, though. I hadn't thought of that. It's been fairly warm here (between freezes, it's around 74 degrees!) and it has put on some new leaves. Can either of you tell me the best way to mount these? I bought 2 more and they're both in pots with soil. I love this plant and really want it to flourish! I move it all the time outside, due to our windy conditions.

You don't have to mount it. You can plant it in a wire hanging basket with coco mat and it will cover the entire basket in time. I have a huge one that has done that. Was given a very large one which is now huge also, that seems to have somehow been put in what looked like fence wire shaped into a basket with a chain to hang it. Very little of the wire is showing. I don't know how old that one is, but the first one I planted in the hanging basket had two fronds in either 1999 or 2000 and you can't see the wire basket and has been huge for quite a long time.

But perhaps you want a wall mount. I've not done one that way, but I believe you use fishing line to wrap around the sterile frond to small nails in the wood (or just around the wood) piece you are mounting on. In time the fronds will cover the fishing line.

That's pretty much what I've done with this one. But how do you hang it? The basket on it's side? Where do you have your's? Is it outside, etc? I'm trying to figure out a "permanent" spot for this guy, instead of moving him around. Do you have any pictures of your's? I'd love to see a "big, healthy" one! Then I could know what to aim for!

Gingerlily's advice is spot on. If you mount it on a board---use a non-rotting wood, cedar---cut fence posts if your plants are small. Or you can collect some dead wood of our local junipers and use that. Drill a hole in the top or otherwise prepare the board to hang. Then attach with a staple gun a long piece of fishing line to the backside of the board. Get some natural uncut sphagnum moss---wet it and make a mound below (5-6") the hole on the front side of the board---place the fern with the growing tip pointing up (towards the hole) (very important that it face up) in an indentation in the moss---then take the fishing line and wrap it over the plant and moss and arround the entire board. Wrap at least 5 to 6 times---pretty tightly---if there are some of the flat vegetative fronds you can wrap over them. Staple the line to the back securely---you may have to staple as you go to get it tight enough. Then submerge into a water filled container to insure it gets well watered and hang up. Let it get dryish before you water again----you can water with the hose or dunk water. The plant will grow and eventually cover all the moss, fishing line, and the whole board. Good luck....

You hang the basket just like any other plant. The long fronds will lean as they mature, but in time new sterile fronds will grow in different places around the basket and it will be totally covered with the long fronds sticking out in every direction. The only fertilizer mine have gotten is miracle grow and banana peels. They do like a good bit of humidity.

"Healthy", yes, they have been, but a couple of days ago I discovered scale on them, so yesterday I had one outside cleaning the scale off. I think I'm going to spray it with insecticidal soap today in hopes of stopping any young ones I missed from developing.

I will take a picture today if I can remember by time I get outside to work on them.

This is the smaller of the two. It was given to me probably 5-7 years ago (I lose track of time). It was large then, but I suppose it has gotten bigger. It appears to be in some kind of fence wire probably shaped basket-like. I assume it had some coco mat or sphagnum moss or something to hold it in there to begin with.

This message was edited Mar 7, 2009 7:13 AM

This is the largest one, I got it in 2000, I think. It had two fronds and was in a tiny pot 2 or3 inches across. It is in a wire basket with coco mat and has long ago covered all that.

The white stuff on your leaves could also be scale in the early stages. If you find any brown shiny bumps on the leaves, that's hardened scale (course you may know this already).

Wow! those were beautiful! Now I understand the "hanging basket" concept. Obviously, I'm a "visual learner"! haha! As for those pesky white spots, they're exactly the same as when I first asked about it. Still not sure what it may be, but nothing's changed as to pattern, etc. so for now I'm just not going to stress about it. I did buy 2 more smaller ones, though, the hedge my bets. Ashjuniper - thanks for the easy directions for mounting. I'll probably mount one of the newbies and put the other in a basket. Deb

Man, do I feel stupid! AshJuniper and Planter56 - I just checked my staghorn fern a few days ago and it looked like it'd looked before - no worse - so I thought "great, no mealy bugs here". HAH! I just went and got it to water and put outside for the spring/summer and there's alot more of those little white specks! I'm getting the sponge and warm water right now! Thanks for the advice - even if I was a little late following it up!
Deb

Anybody have any advice on how to divide a staghorn fern. Mine has grown too large to be easily moved in and out for winter, and after this summer will be unmanageable by this fall. So it will time to split up into smaller ones for Christmas gifts. I'll have to cut the wire basket apart, but that will be the easy part it seems.

It started out in a hanging wire basket 6-7 years ago from two small pots, ballooned in size and weight, got top heavy and the basket is now hanging on its side.

Thanks
Chuck

I think it might be a bit difficult, but maybe. The only pieces I have removed from my staghorn was very, very small and it took digging behind it and forcing it out. I put in a pot but it has been very slow to do anything. I personally wouldn't want to tackle tearing apart a big one.

I did read that if dividing a large one, you need to get several inches of the rhizome for each of the large shoots to be successful. They are a slow grower, and no I don't look forward to busting it up if I don't have to. I busted a small shoot off replacing the chain and it has survived in a small pot, but will take some time to add new growth.

Rhizome?? I didn't realize there was a rhizome in there. I think you would have to take a knife or ax to it depending on how thick it is.

From what I gather it sends out something like a rhizome to produce new shoots. I think they suggest to get as much of this below the basal leaf(s) as possible to ensure a good starting base.

Sorry, Chuck - I'm absolutely no help with this. I just took two out of pots and "sorta" mounted on a basket and one is in a hanging basket, but I'd be scared to death to have to tear one apart. I googled something about transplanting them awhile back, trying to figure out the "best" way to get them out of the dirt and got some good feedback. I know there were a few that had to do with what to do when they get too big! Deb

Maybe that's why that tiny one I removed has just been sitting there. Perhaps I didn't get enough of the rhizome. I removed one or two before and I think they did better. Gave them away, guess I got lucky on those.

This is my 'baby'.

My DH gave it to me when we were first dating, 1984. It was a little guy and was on about a 10" square mount.

This first pix is before Hurricane Wilma

Hap

This one is about 5 minutes ago. It just has not come back from the whipping it took. Plus my screening is gone so it's getting more sun than before.

DANG WILMA!!!


Hap

WOW! The first pic was beautiful - really sorry about the second pic! Maybe now would be a good time to think about separating it? LOL It may bounce back quicker. Well, at least you weren't hurt and your beautiful plant can be "fixed".
Deb

You are right about that. We were very fortunate.

Hap

The little one I took off is finally showing some signs of growth.

Hap, I don't know what you feed yours with, but I use banana peels and miracle grow once in a while. The big ones I have seem to have grown fast to me. But then there may have been something in the wind/rain that has affected it.

Luckily, I water from my lake, so every watering, everything is fed fish-emulsion. I do add banana skins when I think of it. But wait, aren't bananas good for memory. Not eating enough, evidently!! LOL

Hap

Me either (not eating enough bananas)! When did Wilma hit ya'll? (need more bananas,see!)

The dreaded date on 10/24/2005.

Fortunately or not, I was on a cruise. It was told it was coming and it would be TOPS a Catagory 1. Well, it was a 3 when it hit my house. My neighbor has a video as the tornado hit my place, ripped out my screening to the pool, toppled my old 9' satellite dish which was on a 25 foot- 9" steel pole, bent over one of my coconut trees and topped my travelers palm. It was a mess. Finally, after working a week cleaning up, I just broke down to my hands and knees in the yard and cried my eyes out.

But I learned an important thing or two.

1. Life is precious.

2. All grows back.

Hap

Agreed. It does seem though that the staghorn would have progressed more by now. I wonder why it hasn't.

One thing I've noticed about their growth habit, or new growth habit, is that the old brown and dead basal leaves often prevent new growth. All of my new growth has been at the edges of older basal leaves, or adjoining existing sprouts. I've never seen new growth pop through dead basal leaves. They seem to be a plant that likes to spread by colonizing.

You have nothing to lose by removing one side of the dead basal leaves and see what happens. Perhaps even busting/cutting/sawing the whole plant in half. The picture wasn't clear, but it looks as if most of it is dead, having lost a majority of its' fronds to the 'cane.

There is a type of rhizome I believe that makes it way to the outside world to start a new shoot. I don't think the conditions are right for spore germination when we see the new shoots.

Chuck

I have nothing to lose, for it's a sorry soul.

Thanks for the info, Chuck.

Hap

Hap,

Looked at the picture again. Slice sections of the top dead section of the brown leaves till you expose the "rooting" area for lack of a better term here. If possible, soak the plant somehow, or water it well. You could put a towel on top and water it several times. It's easier to remove the layers of dead leaves by tearing or cutting when wet.

I've also noticed that submerging or soaking the plant ball regularly helps to promote new growth. Typically they grow in a wet jungle climate, so perhaps the dryness is preventing growth. When you soak it or water it, I use liquid seaweed to fertilize it. Good luck with it. I know it's tough to have a plant like this that long and watch it fade out.

Chuck

That sounds great. It isn't getting as much water as it did because the gutter was replaced and that had a hose down to the fern, so when it rained, it got soaked.

As far as submerging it...well, it's just to big.

I will start watering it a lot more until the brown sections can be removed and the hose will be replaced. That could really be the main problem.

I really don't want to lose it for I think it was the first gift my DH gave me.

You're a whiz!

Hap

Don't know about the whiz part........
Just thought this - how about a water mister over it.
That might work even better to see if you can jump start the growth after you peel off some of the layers.

Chuck

You're not only a whiz, but psychic. My mister hose goes almost over it.

Now, why didn't I think of that?

UGH!

Hi ya'll. Mind if I butt in?

I have a staghorn fern that's having problems. It's in a 4 " pot. It's in my kitchen window where I thought I could keep up with watering it. Not! One of the leaves died. So I put a saucer under it and try to keep water in it. It started doing a lot better. But now another one of the old leaves is dying. Should I not keep water in the saucer? I never thought of using liquid seaweed. Good idea because I was wondering what kind of fertilizer to use. Is Superthrive not a good idea? And what about myco fungus?

Sorry I'm firing so many questions at ya'll, but I've thinking about this for some time. Also I'm trying to figure out what to do with this when I take it out of the pot. I have a partially hollowed out mesquite log. I hollowed it out with a router bit, so it has a bottom. I was thinking if I cut this thing in half so that each half has part of the bottom (hope this makes sense) I could put the moss in there and tie the fern in and it would have lots of wood to sink roots into. And since I would still have the other half I would have an excuse for buying another fern.:)

This is my fern.

Mount me,,,, Mount me....!!!!!!


Hap

Too much water........they like to stay moist or damp, but not waterlogged. Your picture is telling me two things - the basal leaf is dying off which is natural, a new one will emerge in time and cover the old one, new ones is also how they multiply. The winter heat keeps the humidity low in the house. It likes higher humid tropical conditions, or to be misted or sprayed. Don't be too concerned about losing a leaf or two at this stage, it could be from growth or low humidity inside . Move it outside.

Stags are an epiphyte, meaning they grow by absorbing water and nutrients from the air. Board or log mount it, or in a sturdy hanging basket and place it in a shady spot where it gets only filtered light. Avoid direct hot sun and freezing temps, some early morning sun is OK. In the wild, symbiotically, they cling to trees and wrap around them, but do not harm the tree.

Your area is typically dry most of the year, so spray it down routinely. Placing it, or mounting it in a hollowed out log will likely work, but it will not sink roots into the wood. Take that log and hollow out a large center hole and mount it that way. If you do put it into that log, make sure there is a drain hole, or place it . In time (years), it may wrap itself around the log, so make sure it is large enough, and you have sturdy chain to support it. Most people mount them to a board, or plant in a hanging basket. They don't have roots per se, and the basal leaves help attach to trees in the jungle.

Check out the 40+ pictures to give you an idea how to mount or hang it.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/2740/

Mine started from two little pips 7 years ago, and except for freezing temps, is always outside. However, it is getting to heavy (30-40 lbs dry) and large (6' x 6') to easily move into the garage, so I may have to tearfully break it up this fall.

Chuck

lol at Happy1.

Chuck thanks for all that info. I'm glad that losing that basal leaf is normal. I was worried about that.

I thinking now that maybe that log is not a good idea, unless I can hollow it out more. It quite heavy by itself and if this plant survives and wraps itself around the log, it's going to be so heavy I won't be able to lift it high enough to hang it. I hadn't thought about hanging it in a mossy basket. Those coir things don't last long. I have several and they just fall apart after a year or so. Sphagnum moss would last longer right?

About watering, would one of those glass watering globes work? Can't remember what they call those things. I had a staghorn once that died because I didn't keep it sprayed. Should I fertilize with anything besides liquid seaweed?

BTW your fern is awesome.:) How often do you spray it?

Going to look at the pictures.

Mine was originally upright in the basket, but got top heavy and started tipping over years ago. Couldn't get it to go back, so I left it. BTW, I have not had a problem with coir. The liner in Staggy's basket has been there about 4-5 years and still going strong.

I originally lined the wire basket with coir, then sphagnum and dirt. The basal leaves have almost swallowed it up whole now. Added some sphagnum to the top to help keep the ball moist, not sure it helps that much. When it was smaller, I would occasionally soak the basket in a bucket overnight. Now I just hose it down regularly.

chuck, couldn't you wrap it with 1(maybe even 2) heavy blanket and let it out permanently?