Platycerium (Staghorn) Ferns As Epiphytes
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Prehistoric Platycerium Fern Coronarium
Prehistoric Platycerium Fern Coronarium Is One Of The Platycerium Fern Species That Needs To Completely Dry Back Between Watering To Grow And Prevent Shield Frond And Root System Rot . The Species Shield Fronds Are Made Up Of A Corky Like Substance That Retains Moisture . Nature Has Given This Wonder The Ability To Survive Through And Tolerate Short And Medium Periods , Of No Rain Fall . Nature Also Gave The Species A Natural Living Habitat Of Indonesia , Malaysia And Thailand . The Hardest Thing About Cultivating Platycerium Fern Coronarium Is Learning When To Give The Species Moisture . We At Madagascar Tropicals Will Water The Species Well And Then Forget It For Awhile , Except For Checking The Species For Dryness And Insects During The Winter Season . During The Summer We Will Check The Species , For Dryness , A Little More Often But This Depends On The Temperature And Humidity , Within The Greenhouse .
The Species Lower Portion Of Its Shield Fronds Are Round At The Bottom And The Upper Portion , Of The Fronds , Have Divisions At Its Tips That Give The Fronds The Look Of An Open Human Hand . The Shield Fronds Are Also Absent Of Stellate Hairs And Have A Light Green Color Like Platycerium Fern Alcicorne African .
The Fingers On This Species Fertile Fronds Are Long , Narrow And Turns Into A Tangled Mess When The Root System Reaches Its Host Plant , But Not Until The Species Is Well Established And Mature And Only After The Species Has Been Given Its Proper Cultivation As Nature Intended . As With Any Platycerium Fern Species The Root System Must Be Able To Attach Its Self To Its Host Plant In Order To Become Mature . The Fertile Fronds Are Also Absent Of Stellate Hairs On Its Upper And Lower Surface As With The Species Shield Fronds .
Take A Another Look At This Platycerium Fern Coronarium , Which Had Been Remounted About Two Years Ago And Still Shows No Sign Of Producing A Spore Patch . Last Spring The Species Had Started To Produce A Spore Patch , But We Found Quite A Few Mealy Bugs Behind The Lower Portion Of Its Shield Fronds And Decided That It Would Be More Beneficial To The Species And The Nursery To Forego The Spore Patch For That Season And Fight The Insects . The Solution We Used To Fight The Insects With Was Mixed A Little To Strong For The Species So The Newly Forming Spore Patch Was Burnt In The Process , Which In Turn Stunted The Growth Of The Species Also . At A Later Date We Will Have A Section Covering The Pest Of Platycerium Ferns . Insect Pest Are Common For All That Cultivate The Platycerium Fern Species . There Are Some That Will Enter A Process Of Pretending That They Do Not Have Any Insect Pest , Which Is Just Another Phase Of The Walking Dead .
The Spore Patches , Of Prehistoric Platycerium Fern Coronarium Are Separate From Its Long , Narrow Fingers On The Fertile Fronds . The Patches Are Produced On A Special Spoon Just Like Platycerium Fern Ridleyi , But Are (4) To (5) Times Larger And Resemble A Bats Wing When They Are Spread Out . The Species Spores Are Released All At One Time Naturally , From Spore Patch To Spore Patch . There Is No Need To Attempt To Remove The Spores Before They Are Ripe And Nature Is Ready To Release Them . To Prepare For This Automatic Release You Can Tie A Light Weight Kite Like Plastic Bag To The Spoon In A Manner So That The Kite Hangs About (2) Inches Below The Spoon . This Will Catch The Spores When They Are Released Naturally And At That Time You Know The Spores Are Ripe .
Prehistoric Platycerium Fern Coronarium Produces Pups In Two Different Ways , From Its Root System And From Rhizome Branching . When The Pups Are Produced Through The Rhizome Nature Has Made It Possible For The Pup To Be Perpendicular To The Same Plain As The Mother Plant , Which Causes The Growing Bud Of The Pup To Settle At The Same Height As The Growing Bud Of Its Mother As Shown In This Image . The Mother Plant In This Image Is Located In The Center , With The Pups On The Left And Right Sides . We Have Platycerium Fern Coronarium Producing Pups At The Top , Bottom And Sides Of Species Just Like Platy. Fern Bifurcatum Would Do . These Pups Have Been Formed By The Species Root System .
Prehistoric Platycerium Fern Coronarium Can Be An Easy Species To Cultivate If The Proper Cultivating Requirement Are Given To The Species . This Species Requires Warmth Between (65) And (75) Degrees , With Humidity Between 60% And 75% , Filtered Sun Light No Less Than 30% And Must Be Allowed To Dry Back Completely Between Watering . The Species Should Receive Excellent Air Movement Also , Because When The Humidity Is High It Will Take The Species Longer To Dry Back Even When Given Excellent Air Movement .
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