Platycerium (Staghorn) Ferns As Epiphytes
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Prehistoric Platycerium Fern Cultivation , Group 2
The Platycerium Ferns Contained Within This Group Are - Platy. Fern Philippine Grande , Andinum , Alcicorne African , Alcicorne Madagascar , Stemaria , Ellisii , Holttumii , Wandae , Coronarium , Ridleyi , Hillii , Elephantotis And Platy. Fern Madagascariense .
The Epiphytic Platycerium Ferns Contained Within This Group , Except For Platy. Fern Andinum And Hillii Will Require A Controlled Environment Such As A Greenhouse . If Any Of The Listed Species Are To Be Cultivated Outside The Environment Must Be Tropical Year Round , Were The Night Temperatures Will Not Fall Below (65) Degrees And The Amount Of Humidity , Within The Air , Must Stay Between 65% And 75% Year Round .
These Platycerium Fern Species Requires A Certain Amount Of Humidity To Be Present , Within The Air At All Times . Between 65% And 75% Is The Amount Required . If The Upper End Of The Humidity Scale Is Used The Species Have A Tendency To Become To Soft And Will Suffer A Culture Shock When The Seasons Change . We At Madagascar Tropicals Utilizes The Lower End Of The Humidity Scale Of 65% And The Epiphytic Ferns Cultivate Very Well Year Round And The Plants Have Less Fungus Attacks . With The Humidity Being Maintained Between 65% And 75% The Sphagnum Moss Around The Root System Receives A Longer Dry Back Time At The Center And Rear Of The Root Mass . The Presence Of Humidity In The Air Poses A Problem If The Air Movement Around The Epiphytic Species Does Not Balance Out With The Humidity Around The Species . Air Movement Around The Species Allows The Moss , Which Is The Species Growing Medium And The Root Mass To Have A Slow And Steady Dry Back Time . If The Moss And The Root Mass Becomes Saturated With Moisture And There Is To Much Humidity In The Air The Air Movement Around The Platy. Fern Will Not Be Sufficient Enough To Dry Them Out Quickly And The Root Mass Can Suffer A Fungus And Root Rot Attack . Remember , If The Root System Dries Back To Fast The Roots Of The Epiphytic Plant Species Will Be Unable To Grow Well And If The Root System Or Moss Dries Back To Slow Root Rot And Fungi Can Set In .
All Of The Platycerium Ferns Contained , Within This Species Group Requires Excellent Not Good Air Movement Around Them . This Is Especially True For The Platycerium Species Alcicorne African , Alcicorne Madagascar , Ridleyi And Platy. Madagascariense . The Shield Fronds , Of These Species , Covers The Moss And Root System So Tightly That Outside Air Takes Much Longer To Penetrate Them And Begin The Dry Back Process . Be Very Careful When Watering These Platycerium Ferns .
The Watering , Of These Prehistoric Platycerium Ferns Requires Three Factors To Be Known Before Proceeding With The Task , Such As Temperature , Air Movement Around The Species And The Amount Of Humidity Contained Within The Air . If The Temperatures Are Cool And The Air Contains Moisture The Moss Will Take Longer To Dry Back At Its Center And Rear , Even With Excellent Air Movement . The Opposite Is Also A Cultivating Factor . If The Air Temperatures Are Warm And Contains Very Little Or No Moisture The Moss Dries Back Faster And Even Faster With Excellent Air Movement . A Cultivating Balance Has To Be Found Under These Conditions , Within Your Growing Environment , During Each Seasonal Change In Order To Find Out When To Water Your Platycerium Fern Collection . DO NOT Fall Into The Lazy Practice Of Watering All Of Your Platycerium Ferns At The Same Time . This Type Of Watering Does Not Function Well , With These Species And Will Only Bring On Root Rot And Species Death .
At Madagascar Tropicals We Practice Individual And Deep Watering . This Process Is More Time Consuming , But Well Worth The Time Spent For The Team And The Platycerium Species . During The Summer Months Some Platycerium Ferns , Within The Greenhouse , Receives Watering At The Same Time , But Very Seldom Or Never During The Winter Season .
Deep Watering - This Process Involves The Filling Of A (32) Gal. Trash Can With Water , Plant Food And Sometimes A Little Root Hormone And Then Submerging The Species Within The Solution For A While Until Fully Saturated . The Process Allows The Moss , The Growing Roots Located Between The Shield Fronds , The Shield Fronds Of Species With A Spongy Make Up , The Root Mass And The Mounting To Become Fully Saturated With Moisture . The Root Mass Needs Its Host Plant , Which Is The Mounting In Human Cultivation , To Be Damp In Order For Its Roots To Cling To It . This Type Of Watering Provides Just That . Check The Platycerium Ferns For Any Insect Pest Before Performing This Task And If Any Are Found Do Not Perform The Task , With That Species , Until The Species Has Been Cleaned Of All Known Pest . This Prevents The Transfer Of Any Pest To Other Species , While Performing This Task .
Individual Watering - This Process Is Where You Take Each Prehistoric Platycerium Fern Species And Perform The Task Mentioned Above . This Task Will Really Takes Time And Patience , Especially If You Have A Large Collection , But Here Again The Rewards Are Great . An Example Of Why Watering In This Manner Is Very Helpful , You Can Have Three Platycerium Ferns Side By Side And Each Species Will Have A Different Dry Back Time . If You Were To Water All Three Species At The Same Time , Because You Found One Of Them Dry But The Other Two Species Have Not Dried Back Yet , You Stand A Very Good Chance Of These Species Developing Root Rot And Dying . When The Platycerium Ferns Become Large And Mature The Species Will Need To Be Watered With A Hose .
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