Platycerium (Staghorn) Ferns As Epiphytes
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Platycerium Ferns As Epiphytes , Continued
If Prehistoric Platycerium (Staghorn) Ferns Would Have Been Listed Within The Epiphytic Family Instead Of The Fern Family , By The Botanist , The Cultivation Of The Species Would Be An Easier Task To Perform , By Platycerium Enthusiast .
When Some One Hears The Term Fern , When First Cultivating These Species , The First Thing That Comes To Mind Is Water , Because They Have Been Consistently Informed That Ferns Require A Lot Of Water To Cultivate . This Has Been The Main Cultivating Needs Presented To People For Growing The Typical Fern Species Of Plants , But For Cultivating Prehistoric Platycerium Ferns A Lot Of Water Is A Complete No No .
Prehistoric Platycerium Ferns Must Be Cultivated As Epiphytes , In Order For Them To Live And Survive . Epiphytes Do Take Water , But Not In The Same Manner As Your Typical Fern Species . Typical Ferns Can Tolerate Their Root System Being Submerged , Within Soil And Being Kept Rather Damp And Wet For Quite Some Period Of Time With No Need For Air To Circulate Around Them . Prehistoric Platycerium Ferns , On The Other Hand , Cannot Tolerate Their Root System Being Placed , Within Soil And Being Kept Wet Or Damp . The Root System , Of These Species , Have A Definite Need For Air To Circulate Around Them And Dry Back .
With Epiphytic Plant Species Their Root System Have A Need To Be Watered , But The Roots Also Have A Very Important And Demanding Need Of Being Able To Dry Back Quickly So The Roots Will Not Become Spongy And Develop Root Rot . The Growing Roots , Of Some Epiphytic Plant Species , Can Be Found Hanging In Mid Air Growing And Surviving , If They Can Receive Their Proper Cultivating Needs . Within Nature , Epiphytes Are Usually Found Living , Surviving And Growing Attached Upon Another Plant As A Host , But Epiphytes Do No Take Anything From The Plant Species Their Using As A Host , For Survival . With Some Epiphytic Plant Species The Holding Roots Will Attach Themselves To A Host Plant And The Growing Roots Are Found Hanging In Mid Air Collecting Moisture And Nutrients From The Elements , Of Nature .
Prehistoric Platycerium Ferns Live And Survive As An Epiphytic Plant , Within Nature This Way , Except The Species Growing Roots Are Not Hanging In Mid Air Collecting Moisture And Nutrients . This Task Is Performed By The Fertile Fronds , Of Platy. Ferns . The Fertile Fronds Accomplish This Task By Absorbing Moisture From The Morning Dew , Rain And The Humidity Within The Surrounding Air . Nutrients Are Absorbed Through The Fertile Fronds By Decaying Matter That Falls Upon Them And Becomes Damp . The Holding Roots , Of Platycerium Ferns , Will Attach Themselves To A Host Plant And Hold The Platy. Fern In Place And Then The Growing Bud Will Begin Producing Shield Fronds , Fertile Fronds And Growing Roots . As The Shield And Fertile Fronds Continue To Mature Their Growing Roots Also Continue Growing And Eventually Merge With The Old Holding Roots . When The Shield And Fertile Fronds (Die Back) Their Roots Become Part Of The Root Mass And Will Assist In The Holding Of The Species To Its Host .
With The Prehistoric Platycerium Fern Species Being Epiphytic , By Nature , You Can Place The Species In Mid Air Without Any Sphagnum Moss Or Other Growing Medium Being Placed Around Its Root Mass And The Species Will Live , Grow And Survive . If The Species Are Cultivated Like This You Will Need To Water The Platycerium Fern According To How Fast The Root Mass Dries Back . With A Few Prehistoric Platy. Ferns The Lower Portion Of Their Shield Fronds Act As A Sponge And Stores Moisture For Use By The Root Mass In Between The Rains . These Species Will Take A Little Longer To Dry Back .
At Madagascar Tropicals , We Have Prehistoric Platycerium Ferns Sitting On Benches , Within The Greenhouse , That Have Not Been Mounted Or Have Any Sphagnum Moss Placed Around Their Root Mass And The Species Are Growing , Living And Surviving Within This State . The Air Movement , Humidity , Watering And Food Supply Must Be Excellent For This Feat , Of Nature , To Be Presented . We Allow The Platycerium Ferns To Dry Back Well Before The Next Watering .
When A Prehistoric Platycerium Fern Species Is Removed , From Natures Natural Cultivation And Placed Within Mans Cultivating Area We Will Need To Mimic The Cultivation That Nature Was Giving . This Task Can Become Very Stressful For Man , Because Man Is Unable To Reproduce All Of The Natural Forces That Are Found And Necessary , Within Nature , For A Complete Balance Of Nature . As An Example , Man Considers Insects To Be A Pest , But Nature Does Not . The Owner , Of Madagascar Tropicals , Visited Again The Person Responsible For The Introduction Of Platy. Fern Wandae Into The United States A Few Years Back To See One Of The Original And Last Living Platycerium Fern Wandae That Was Introduced Into The United States Still Alive And Growing Well Even Though The Species Was Completely Covered With Mealy Bugs . This Just Goes To Show That What Man Thinks Is A Pest Or Unsightly Nature Does Not . As Time Moves On , The Brain Of Man And The Brains Of The Team At Madagascar Tropicals Might Be Able To Accept All The Things That Nature Has To Offer As Being Beneficial To All Living Entities , But At This Time Our Brains Have Not Matured Enough .
The Team , At Madagascar Tropical , Would Like For You To Understand That We Do Not Claim To Being An Expert Nor Have All The Knowledge It Would Take To Be An Expert On The Cultivation Of The Prehistoric Platycerium Fern Species . We Feel That This Process Would Involve All Brains Before Us And All Brains After Us In Order To Become An Expert , On This Subject And Our Heads Are Just Not That Large . What We Have Found Over The Years Of Cultivating The (18) Species Of Prehistoric Platycerium Ferns And A Few Of Their Cultivars Is That In Order To Be Successful In Their Cultivation You Must Cultivate The Platycerium Species As Epiphytes For Them To Grow, Live And Survive .
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