Staghorn fern help: Repot or mount?
Plant Parent
I have a quick question about this stag-horn fern I have. It was small when I got it and now it’s gotten too big for the pot. I would like to transfer it to a bigger pot or wall mount.
Do you have any suggestions on how to do this safely for the plant? Do I break its pot?
The pups are growing and pushing against the pot walls. There is zero movement when I turn it upside down.
It’s tricky because I’m not wanting to hurt this plant and also like this pot…
This is after one year of being in this pot:
Darryl
Staghorns are super tough but people often get scared of not wanting to hurt the shield fronds. Don’t worry about it – in fact, when you first mount it, you *WILL* damage the current shield frond. With good light and watering accordingly, new ones will grow over top.
I would pry this plant out with a knife around the edges of the pot, then – if you want to separate them, you can.
You could probably do something similar to what I’ve done with mine in this video
Plant Parent
Thank you so much for your wealth of information. I really do appreciate it. I wanted to send you an update. I repotted my stag. Not ready to mount it quite yet:
Darryl
Looks good! Thanks for the update!
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Recommend a Gardner who can mount large Staghorn Ferns in Los Angeles, California.