How to Multiply a Staghorn Fern

Spore Reproduction

• 1

  Select a fertile (pendulous) frond containing spores. Spores ready for propagation will be shiny and light brown in color.

• 2

  Cut away the section of frond that's covered by spores with a sharp knife. The remainder of the frond can be left attached to its base.

• 3

  Place the spore-covered frond section into a paper bag. Fold the bag over at the top and set aside. When a brown dust appears in the bag, the spores are ready for collection.

• 4

  Prepare a plastic or clay pot, filling it to the top with peat moss. Sterilize the peat moss by pouring boiling water through it. Secure plastic film over the top of the pot to preserve the sterile field. Allow the water to drain and the peat moss to cool.

• 5

  Sprinkle the staghorn fern spores over the surface of the cooled peat moss. Replace the plastic film and secure it.

• 6

  Place the seeded pot into a shallow container filled partway with water. Position the container and pot in a secure area that receives plenty of indirect sunlight.

• 7

  Refill the container with water until a moist, green layer has appeared on top of the peat moss. This layer is the spores starting to develop. It will take several weeks or more for the spores to develop the sterile “shield” fronds, which will be followed by the fertile bifurcated fronds. These new plants are called “pups.”

• 8

  Transfer pups individually or in groups to new sphagnum moss-filled pots or to backing boards prepared with a small amount of sphagnum moss secured to their center.

Plantlet Reproduction

• 9

  Identify the boundaries of one or more plantlets on the base of an older plant.

• 10

  Insert a knife under the shield-like frond at the base of each plantlet. Carefully pry the roots and rhizome away from the other plantlets and the parent plant.

• 11

  Wrap the plantlet roots in damp sphagnum moss. Tie the moss into a ball using a stocking or piece of cloth.

• 12

  Staghorn ferns intended for use as houseplants should be finished by tying the root ball to a backing board. Very small plants can be started in a clay or plastic pot. The most commonly available variety of staghorn fern, Platycerium bifurcatum, can be grown outside in hardiness zones 9 to 11 and can be finished by tying the root ball to a tree in a secure microclimate, such as under a leafy tree canopy.