How to Graft a Staghorn

Staghorn ferns are not actually grafted for propagation in the literal sense, but the easiest and most common way to propagate them is by using cuttings from a mother plant and then mounting, or grafting, the cutting onto planks or boards. It may seem strange that the best method of growing a plant is by cutting it from itself, then tacking it onto a piece of wood, but staghorns are epiphytes, plants that naturally grow on, or graft onto, tree trunks without leaching nutrients from the source it is rooted to. This is best replicated at home with a wooden plank and some support.

Mother staghorn fern
Sphagnum moss
Fishing line
Knife
Water
Wooden board

Instructions

- 1
  Select a staghorn pup to cut from your mother staghorn fern. There should be at least a small gap between the living, or green, parts of the main fern plant and the young fern you wish to separate and remount. The selected pup should have at least two green fronds growing from it.
- 2
  Water the mother plant thoroughly. This will reduce stress to both ferns once they are separated and will ease the cutting process.
- 3
  Cut the sterile -- brown -- fronds connecting the parent plant to the new pup, leaving an equal distance between the two plants.
- 4
  Soak the sphagnum moss in water before using it. You will only need a couple of handfuls of the moss, enough to equal the diameter of your pup plant and create a buffer of 3 to 4 inches between the plant and your plank.
- 5
  Attach the sphagnum moss to the bottom of your new staghorn fern using fishing line to ensure the two are connected securely.
- 6
  Place your staghorn fern on the wooden plank. Make sure it is oriented in the same direction as it was when still connected to the mother plant.
- 7
  Secure, or graft, your staghorn fern to the wooden plank with more fishing line.
- 8
  Hang the newly mounted staghorn fern outside where it receives four to six hours of sunlight each day.

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