How to Replant Staghorn Plants
Native to tropical climates, staghorn ferns thrive outdoors in Florida and as houseplants in cooler regions of the United States. If you can grow yours outdoors, mount it on a tree trunk to expose its roots to the air, mimicking how the plants in this species grow in the wild. Nurseries also sell small varieties for container culture. Replant those when you notice that the roots have outgrown the pots. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Sand, coarse and sterile
- Leaf mold
- Peat moss
- Loamy soil
- Charcoal chips
- Planter
Instructions
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1
Blend equal amounts of sterile, coarse sand, leaf mold, peat moss and loamy soil, which is potting soil amended with organic matter. Add a handful of charcoal chips to the mixture to keep its pH alkaline. Plan to replant the staghorn fern in the spring.
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2
Add some of the potting mix you prepared to the bottom of a planter with drainage holes. Select a pot that is just large and deep enough to accommodate the root system without much room to spare.
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3
Take the fern out of the pot it is currently in. Place the root system on the layer of soil in the new planter. Adjust the potting mix thickness at the bottom as needed to position the staghorn at the same depth as it has been growing.
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4
Water the staghorn fern until excess moisture drips from the drainage holes. Wait until the soil feels dry and the foliage begins to wilt to irrigate it again.
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Tips & Warnings
Dismount your staghorn fern from its support, and follow Steps 1 to 4 to pot it if you are moving to a cool climate. If you relocate to where it is warm year-round, keep the fern in the pot following the move. Place the plant outdoors in filtered sunlight, increasing the number of hours it spends outside gradually over the next 10 days. Place some moist potting blend on the support. Remove the plant from the pot, and position its thick and overlapping lower leaves in contact with the soil mixture. Fasten the plant and medium to the support with a nylon hose. Ask a friend to hold on to the fern and potting soil while you wrap the hose around them.
