Mounting a Staghorn

Don showed how to mount a staghorn on a wall. This particular plant had been growing on a dead tree trunk, but had fallen off.

Elk or stag?

Don used a staghorn to demonstrate the mounting process, but an elkhorn could be substituted equally well. The difference between the two is that the staghorn (Platycerium superbum) has a single rosette of foliage whereas the elkhorn (P. bifurcatum) has multiple rosettes.

It is not a good idea to mount staghorns or elkhorns on living trees unless they are mounted on a board first, otherwise they will moisten the bark, causing fungus decay and insect damage to the tree. Winding wire around the trunk can kill the tree, so it is best to use coach screws through the tree when attaching the board.

Mounting on a timber frame

1. Trim the plant into a flattish shape which can be nailed to the piece of wood. A serrated kitchen knife is fine for this. Trim off any broken pieces and uneven root growth but be careful not to cut off any rosettes of foliage, as these are the centres of growth. Any green material which has been trimmed from the plant can be mounted as new plants.
2. Choose hardwood for the frame, as softwood will rot. To make the framework, we used a fence paling cut into five pieces. Three horizontal pieces of paling are nailed (or screwed) onto two vertical backing pieces.
3. Thin (under 10cm) elk or staghorns can be nailed to the frame with galvanised flat-headed nails, nailed through a bottle top. Otherwise, use a roll of plastic-coated wire (or coathanger wire), threaded around the plant and poked through drill holes. Fasten the wire tightly at the back of the frame using pliers (the plant will not be damaged), but avoid any of the buds.

Mounting on a wall

You can attach the plant to a timber frame (as above) and then mount it on a wall, but in our segment Don mounted a staghorn straight onto the wall, as per the following steps.

Note: As the staghorn is being mounted above the damp course mounting it directly on the wall could cause dampness, so take this into consideration when you position the plant and monitor the wall for damp.

1. Decide exactly where on the wall the stag is to be mounted. It is important not to position it too high, otherwise it will not have room to grow and it will be difficult for you to water and feed the plant.
2. Measure the width of the stag across the base, then mark corresponding points on the wall for the drill holes.
3. Using a masonry drill bit, drill two holes in the wall. Insert a masonry anchor (such as a Dynabolt), then tightly screw in two eye bolts. (Tip: before drilling, measure the drill bit against the masonry anchor, then put some gaffer tape around the drill bit to mark the required drilling depth.
4. Take some plastic-coated wire (or coathanger wire), and run it through one eye bolt and attach it firmly to the other eye bolt. (Tip: use a long piece of wire, so that it will be easier to tighten later.)
5. With the help of a strong friend, lift the stag or elkhorn into position. Loop the wire around the brown or dead part of the plant (wire around any green parts could kill the plant.)
6. Tighten the wire so that the plant is fixed securely to the wall.

After your stag or elk is mounted

1. You’ll notice that the dead fronds at the back of the fern curl over to form a convenient basket shape. Fill the basket with sphagnum moss, compost, tea leaves, banana skins, or whatever organic material happens to be lying around.
2. Water the fern well. Don used a mixture of 50% Nitrosol and 50% Seasol, diluted as normal. This mixture gives plants a boost: the Nitrosol encourages foliage growth and the Seasol aids root development.

Further reading

Staghorns and ferns are featured in the April edition of the Burke’s Backyard magazine, on sale at newsagents for $4.60.