Platycerium (Staghorn) Ferns As Epiphytes
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Prehistoric Platycerium Fern Cultivation , Group 1
The Platycerium Ferns Contained Within This Group Are - Platycerium Fern Bifurcatum , Platy. Fern Willinckii , Platy. Fern Superbum , Platy. Fern Veitchii And Platycerium Fern Hillii And Its Cultivars .
All Platycerium Ferns Contained , Within This Group , Can Be Cultivated Outside All Year Round Where The Day Or Night Time Temperatures Will Not Fall Below (40) Degrees , For Any Length Of Time . In Areas Where The Winter Season Becomes Very Cold These Species Are Unable To Survive The Freezes And Low Temperatures Presented To Them , When Cultivated Outside And Should Be Brought Inside For Protection . The Average Low Consistent Temperature For Platycerium Ferns Should Not Be Less Than (40) Degrees . If The Temperatures Were To Dip Below (40) Degrees For An Extended Period Of Time The Roots , Of The Species , Would Freeze And Cause The Species To (Die) . When Prehistoric Platycerium Ferns Are Being Cultivated Outside They Must Also Be Protected From Any Strong Winds And Frost . The Strong Winds Will Ravish The Fronds And The Frost Will Cause The Shield And Fertile Fronds To Become Frost Bitten And Burnt .
During The Winter Season You Will Also Need To Cut Back On Your Watering Cycle , Because The Cool Winter Rains And Lower Temperatures Cause The Air To Retain Moisture For Longer Periods Of Time . When The Air Is Cool And Contains Moisture The Moss And Root Mass Has A Longer Dry Back Time . If You Were To Continue Watering The Species Before The Species Was Allowed To Dry Back The Root System , Of The Species , Would Enter A Root Rot Mode . In The Case Of Platycerium Fern Superbum This Species Just Would Not Grow . When To Much Moisture Is Given To These Species The Fertile Fronds Begin Turning Yellow Then Brown And Will (Die) Faster Than Normal . The Fertile Fronds Must Be Allowed To Work At Their Pace To Remove Excess Water , From These Epiphytic Plant Species . Water And Temperature Are The Two Main Factors To Keep An Eye On , During The Winter Season . Remember , Less Water And Maintaining A Temperature Of No Less Than (40) Degrees , During The Winter Season .
The Feeding , Of The Species , Should Be Reduced To (1/4) Strength During The Winter Season Or None At All . The Moss Around The Root System Has A Better Chance Of Mulching , With The Cooler Temperatures And Will Feed The Species With Natural Nutrients . During The Winter Season Platycerium Fern Bifurcatum , Willinckii , Veitchii And Platy. Fern Hillii And Its Cultivars Only Produce Fertile Fronds And Platycerium Fern Superbum Only Produces Shield Fronds . You Can Use Any General All Purpose Plant Food At (1/4) Strength Per Gallon Of Water For Feeding , Along With A Few Drops Of Root Hormone .
The Platycerium Fern Hillii Cultivars Are A Cross Between Platycerium Fern Bifurcatum And Platycerium Fern Hillii With These Cultivars Being Crossed With Their Cultivars . Most Of These Cultivars Posses More Of The Platycerium Fern Hillii Strain Than They Do The Platycerium Fern Bifurcatum Strain And Can Be Cultivated In The Same Manner As Platycerium Fern Bifurcatum , Except During The Summer Season . During This Time Of Year The Hillii Cultivars Will Require A Little More Water . The Hillii Cultivars Produces Their Shield Fronds In Late Fall Through Early Spring .
The Platycerium Ferns Listed Within This Group Can Be Considered Year Round Growers , Because They Do Not Enter Into A Dormancy Period And Will Produce Some Growth In Either Their Fertile Fronds Or Shield Fronds All Year Round . All Of These Listed Species Will Grow Much Better If Allowed To Dry Back , But Not To The Point Of Being Bone Dry . The Best Way To Accomplish This Task Is To Water The Species Well And Forget Them For A while . These Platycerium Fern Species Can Survive Being Dry For A While Much Better Than They Can Being Wet . All Platycerium (Staghorn) Ferns Have A Very Slow Growth Process And At This Point And Time No One Has Been Able To Force Any Prehistoric Platycerium Fern To Grow Any Faster Than Nature Intended For It To Grow .
Now That Your Prehistoric Platycerium Fern Collection Was Able To Survive The Harsh Winter Season And Spring Is In The Air And Summer Is On Its Way , Its Time To Deal With The Opposite Extreme Of Nature , Which Is Summer .
When Spring Arrives Your Platycerium Fern Species Begin Looking Very Nice And Can Give You A Sense Of Enlightenment , Which Is The Way It Should Be . One Would Think That All Of This Beauty Would Stay Around , But Nature Has Something Else In Mind For Your Platycerium Ferns , It Sends Its Summer Season To You And Along With It Comes The High Hot Temperatures , Dry Air And Its Insect Pest On Their Way To Work At Their Mealy Bug And Scale Manufacturing Plant Which Is Your Pride Platycerium Fern And Will Also Do A Little Grocery Shopping At Kroger Or Vons And Other Plants .
Even Though These Platycerium Fern Species Produce Growth Year Round , The Species Have Shown A Tendency Not To Enjoy The High Hot Summer Temperatures . When The Temperatures Rise Above (78) Degrees And The Air Becomes Very Dry , The Growth Of The Species , Slows To A Crawl . This Is Caused By The Moss Drying Back To Fast For The Root System To Grow Well And The Moss Having A Much Harder Time Mulching . The Lack Of Dampness In The Medium , Around The Roots And The Fast Drying Back Time Causes The Roots To Take A Longer Time To Extend To The Host Plant . During These Times You Will Need To Increase The Amount Of Moisture Being Given To The Species And Change The Food Supply From No Food To (1/4) Strength Per Gallon Of Water For The Roots , Of The Species , To Receive The Proper Amount Of Moisture And Nutrients Needed . The Nursery Keeps The Mixture At (1/4) Strength All The Time .
The Prehistoric Platycerium Ferns , Within This Group , Are Easy To Cultivate If You Are Very Careful About Watering The Species . Attempting To Force The Species To Grow By Giving Them To Much Water Or Food Will Only Kill Or Damage Them . The Over Watering Of Platycerium Ferns Is The Most Common Cause Of Death , Within Platy. Fern Collections . Platycerium Ferns Are Not Your Ordinary Ferns And The Species Are True Epiphytes Which Requires Less Water Than Your Normal Ferns Require .
The Amount Of Filtered Sun Light Given To These Epiphytic Species Affects Their Growth Patterns Also . If The Platycerium Fern Species Are Being Cultivated In Low Light The Species Are More Than Likely Not To Produce Spore Patches And Will Have A Dark Green Color Instead Of A Lighter Green . No Stellate Hairs Will Be Produced On The Species That Should Have These Protective Hairs , On Their Surfaces . If The Filtered Sun Light Is To High The Platycerium Ferns Stand The Chance Of Being Burnt , From Over Exposure To The Ultra Violet Rays Of The Sun . The Nursery Has Found That The Best Filtered Sun Light Is Between 40% And 50% .
With A Little Care And Paying Attention To The Growth Patterns , Of These Epiphytic Platycerium Ferns , Your Species Will Grow And Become Very Nice Looking .
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