How to Mount a Staghorn Fern

I am lucky enough to be writing this from Mexico and I love jungle plants oh so much, so I thought I'd share a little tutorial on incorporating an awesome tropical plant into your home. Staghorn ferns are members of the Polypodiaceae plant family. They thrive as epiphytes, which are plants that harmlessly grow on another plant, usually a tree, and derive their moisture and nutrients from the air, and rain.

Because they grow on other plants, you must mount your staghorn fern on wood or in a basket. This allows you to hang your staghorn on the wall as a beautiful, growing piece of art. I mounted some for Christmas for my Staghorn NYC teammates and took lots of photos so I could share with all of you!

Step 1: Choose your mounting board. Attach brackets to the back so you can hang your staghorn on the wall when you're done. This will be hard to do at the end without hurting your fern, so do it first!

Step 2: Turn your board over and trace a circle around the base of your pot.

Step 3: Use screws or nails around the circle. You can do more all the way around the circle if you want but I just did four.

Step 4: Gently remove the Staghorn from the soil. Be careful not to break the shield (the brown part at the base). 

Step 5: Put a small pile of soil in the circle you made and cover this with sphagnum moss. This can easily be found at any garden store. It's good to soak the moss in water before you use it. 

Step 6: Place your fern on your pile of moss. Make sure it's facing the direction you want it to grow (check the brackets on the back!). 

Step 7: You should use fishing line to attach the fern but I couldn't find any so I used floral wire that I had(not the best option). Wrap the wire/line around one of the screws. Pull it taught and crisscross around the base of your fern to the other screws.  When it's secure, tie it to the last screw and cut the excess.

Step 8: Viola! You can hang your fern! Hang in a place your fern will get indirect light.

Caring for your fern: Weekly, give the whole thing a good soaking, the board and the plant. Let it dry out before rehanging.  Make sure you don't let the leaves get too dusty because it absorbs through its pores. It enjoys a nice misting once in a while as well.