Platycerium are a type of fern that we know as the “Staghorn Fern”. But, the normal type you see, P. bifurcatum, has deer antler types of leaves. They are narrow and reach out from the attaching shield. But, there’s another type known as the “Moosehorn Fern” where the leaves are entire, stretching across the width of the plant. Mature, they look entirely different. These leaves can get up to six feet across – one giant shield like leaf. They are not easy to find. The standard Staghorn is not difficult to locate. Both are an epiphytic type of plant that can be mounted on a tree trunk or grown on a flat wooden base. They are not hard to care for but you don’t want to let them go dry. I water them by just spraying with a hose and occasionally give them some liquid fertilizer mixed into the water. You want to water to hit the plant from above – like rain. They can take a bit of sun or strong filtered light. Cold hardiness is typically into the mid to perhaps low twenties F. The plants we have presently are larger than ones we’ve offered in the past. The plant shown below has a shield that is about 16 inches wide and mounted on wood. It’s shown in the first six photos. We also have slightly smaller Moosehorns that are a bit less expensive.
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