Staghorn Fern Care; How to grow this uncommon fern indoors.
Staghorn Fern Care is not as hard as it seems.
Don’t be intimidated by all the beautiful pictures of Staghorn Ferns mounted on wood boards you have seen on Pinterest, thinking that’s too pretty for you to keep alive!
Staghorn Ferns can be pretty low maintenance, once you figure out their needs.
In-fact, I consider them one of the easiest Ferns to care for, (with the Bird’s Nest Fern!)
That’s right! It’s much easier for me to grow a gorgeous Staghorn Fern than trying to keep a Boston, or Maidenhair Fern alive!
Native to the tropical areas of South America, Africa, South-East Asia, Australia and New Guinea, the many species of Platycerium are epiphytic in nature. These Ferns grow on other plants, anchoring themselves on them with their small roots and drawing nutrients from the air, water, and rain, much like air plants do, (Check out my Blog on Tropical Houseplants to see how massive Staghorn Ferns get when growing wild!).
The two spieces that are most commonly sold as houseplants are the Platycerium Bifurcatum and the Platycerium Superbum.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Staghorn Fern is the way its fronds are structured to serve two different functions.
The basal fronds, (shield fronds), are large and flat. They start off green and eventually turn brown and dry out, shaping and laminating themselves around the tree or whatever structure the plant is growing onto. Its function is to protect the roots and to keep them moist.
The fertile fronds, (antler fronds), are the long, bifurcated and antler looking fronds. The underside of these fronds carry the spores for the plant’s reproduction. (Staghorn Ferns reproduce by spores released into the air, not seeds.)
Now that you’ve learnt these interesting facts about the plant, let’s take a look at the Staghorn Fern Care details.
Here is a brand new basal (shield) frond. As you can see, it is still green. It will eventually dry out and turn brown, which is absolutely natural in order to serve its function of protecting the plant’s roots.
There is no reason to panic or think that the plant is sick or dying if the shield fronds dry out!
Staghorn fern light
Staghorn Fern Care is quite simple once you’ve mastered the right light exposure and watering frequency. After that, you can pretty much leave your plant alone…other than watering it.
Although you may have found this plant in many Low Light Plants lists, including mine, the truth is that the Staghorn Fern thrives in bright, indirect light, as long as it is not exposed to full sun.
Sure, it can do quite well in moderate light condition, but it surely will surprise you when moved to a bright spot with no direct sun!
I keep mine near a window in a South facing room and it does get a couple of hours of gentle morning sun.
Other ideal locations are East and North facing windows. Avoid West facing windows.
The fertile (antler) fronds of my Staghorn Fern, soaking up the morning light.
staghorn fern humidity & temperature
The Staghorn Fern is native to tropical climates, and as such it really enjoys high humidity. In nature, it actually draws most of its nutrients from the moisture in the air.
It is definitely a bonus for this plant to have that extra humidity it needs to thrive, however, it does relatively well in most average homes. (I find that this plant does better than Calatheas, Marantas and Peace Lilies when it comes to humidity needs).
Here are the foolproof recommendation to increase humidity levels around your plants that I always include in my articles;
- Grouping your plants by species. Grouping plants together will help them raise the surrounding humidity levels.
- Misting your plants. I mist all those plants that thrive in high humidity with distilled water. Our tap water is really hard, so I want to avoid any calcium deposits on the leaves. In order to make misting effective, make sure that the water droplets actually fall into the top soil, and not just on the leaves. (IN THE CASE OF THE STAGHORN FERN, IT IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT TO MIST THE UNDERSIDE OF THE ANTLER FRONDS, WHERE THE SPORES ARE FORMED).
- Using a tray filled with pebbles and water. Filling a saucer with small pebbles and adding water so that it barely reaches the top surface of the pebbles, helping maintaining higher levels of humidity around the plant. However, it is important that the bottom of the pot is not submerged in water with the roots stagnating in it. This will cause root rot in the long term.
- Using a plant mister. It really helps increasing the humidity around your plants.
I apply the first three strategies for my Staghorn Fern Care. It’s not too cumbersome, as once you’ve placed one plant on top of a pebble tray within a group of plants, it remains like that; there is no reason to change.
I mist it every time I water it, so that’s pretty automatic for me.
As far as temperature goes, make sure your Staghorn Fern is always kept above 50F/10C if you take it outside for the summer.
When indoors, keep it away from any drafts, whether cold or hot.
In this picture you can see the pot is sitting on a pebble tray filled with water.
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staghorn fern watering & fertilizing
There are different ways and frequencies to water a Staghorn Fern.
It really depends on how big is your Fern, where it’s planted, how much light it gets and how humid it’s the surrounding air.
If your Staghorn Fern is mounted on a board, you can either mist it often in order to maintain the roots moist, or you can soak the root ball, (hence part of your board), in water for 10-20 minutes.
If your Staghorn Fern is in a pot like mine, you can water it with a watering can that has a long and narrow spout to reach the soil under the layers of basal fronds, or you can soak the pot in water for 10-20 minutes.
Now, how often do you do that?
The more light the plant gets, the more water it will need, (but never more than once a week).
The more humid is your home, the less water your plant will need, (but never less than every three weeks).
As a rule of thumb, I water my Staghorn Fern once a week from Spring to Fall, and every two weeks from Fall to Spring. Keep in mind that I keep my plant by a South facing window, in a well draining pot, sitting on top of a pebble tray filled with water.
The pebble tray works as a great gauge for me. I pour enough water until I see the water draining out of the pot and reach the top surface of the pebbles.
The Staghorn Fern is a good feeder! Since it doesn’t get as many nutrients from the air as it gets in its natural environment, it’s a good practice to fertilize your plant once a month from Spring to Fall and once every two months from Fall to Spring. I use a liquid plant food to fertilize all my plants.
Here you can see how the basal (shield) frond is really shaping and wrapping around the pot’s perimeter as to prevent access to the roots.
A new small basal frond is forming.
Hey Plant Loving Woman!
Are you a middle age mom?
Do you constantly feel overwhelmed and anxious?
Do you believe in the healing power of nature?
To reveal your #1 Personal Houseplant that best
helps you reduce your anxiety.
staghorn fern repotting
The Staghorn Fern doesn’t grow fast indoors.
I’ve had mine for four years at the time this article is published, and I’ve only repotted it once to simply move it from the greenhouse plastic pot to a terracotta pot.
Because they are epiphytes, Staghorn Ferns have small roots with the simple function of anchoring themselves to other trees or surfaces. Their nutrients don’t come from the roots, like the majority of houseplants, but from their fronds.
For this reason, (and for the fact that they don’t grow fast), this Fern doesn’t need to be repotted often at all.
Actually, a too big of a pot can only cause issues for this plant. Small roots in a big pot filled with soil, are at risk of rot.
The more soil surrounding the roots, the more water is retained, and the more water is retained, the more chances of root rot, especially when the pot doesn’t have drainage holes or the potting mix doesn’t have enough drainage.
It is critical for the health of the Staghorn Fern that, it is planted in a pot that is not too big and that it has drainage holes.
When repotting your Staghorn Fern, make sure you pick a terracotta pot as it has great porosity that guarantees the soil to dry out between waterings and it generally comes with draining holes.
You can use a generic potting mix, but it is a good idea to add some perlite to add drainage properties to the soil. I generally mix 1 part perlite to 4 part soil.
Lastly, if you choose to mount your Staghorn Fern to a board, rather than repotting it, make sure your plant is big and mature enough for it. Young and small plants should not be mounted.
I chose not to mount mine to any boards simply for practical reasons.
I find it too easy to water my Staghorn Fern with a watering can and I have way too many plants to care for to find the time to take the board down from the wall every week and soak it, then allow enought time to dry out and hang it back.
It sure is beautiful and tempting but I am not ready for it yet!
Photo Credit: Allison Cherry on Canva
This is my Staghorn Fern when I moved it from its greenhouse plastic pot to a terracotta pot 4 years ago. You can see it has grown quite a bit.
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Hey Plant Loving Woman!
Are you a middle age mom?
Do you constantly feel overwhelmed and anxious?
Do you believe in the healing power of nature?
To reveal your #1 Personal Houseplant that best
helps you reduce your anxiety.