How to Mount a Staghorn Fern

April 4, 2022

Staghorn Ferns are Epiphytes, meaning they grow on other plants but do not take nutrients from the host plant. Instead, it gets nutrients from rain water, accumulated debris, and air, which is amazing! There are so many gorgeous plants that live this way. Mounting a Staghorn Fern is a way to style this epiphyte that’s more natural to its growing habit.

Staghorn Fern mounted on wood — Staghorn Fern Mounted on Wood

How to Mount a Staghorn Fern

Tools for the Job:

Fishing line
Scissors
Piece of wood or Board ( Non Treated wood is best)
Sheet Moss
Staghorn Fern

The first thing you need to do is soak your moss in warm water to rehydrate it. Allow your moss to sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Once it’s moist, drain the excess water and set aside.

I am using a piece of wood from our firewood pile. It caught my eye because of the bark and the flatness of the back. You can use a piece of wood like I am, or you can get a piece of wood board from a hardware store.

They are happy to cut you a piece to the size you need. If using a board, make sure that depending on the size of your fern, you allot at least two inches around the fern for the shield to grow. You can measure by using the pot size of your fern.

If you want to see how to mount a Staghorn Fern on a piece of board check out this video below

Now it’s time to take your fern out of the pot. Take off as much soil as possible. My fern was root bound, so I made four cuts into the root ball. I was able to remove some soil but most was stuck to the roots, so in an effort to not stress the plant out any further I, stopped. The goal is to get the plant as flat on the surface of the board or wood as possible.

Next, you will want to position your fern onto your wood. Once happy with the placement, you can begin laying sheet moss around the root ball on the piece of wood. Make sure to cover every piece of the root ball.

Take your fishing line and make your first knot around the Staghorn and the wood. You will want to take the string through the fronds and over the shields if any are present. Tie your string making your first secure loop around the plant. Continue wrapping the fishing line around the moss and wood, and be sure to pull tight.

The goal is to secure the plant and moss to the piece of wood. You may tie off the string at any point and then start again with a new loop if you want.

I continued to wrap the same string around the wood until I was confident the plant and moss were secure. I probably wrapped the string at least thirty times around. Now you have to lift your wood and test if your plant is secure. If it is, then congratulations! You just mounted a Staghorn Fern!