You will need some sphagnum moss (long cut)....soak the moss in water (rain water is best) for several hours...

wood to mount the staghorn fern on... it should be hard wood like oak or mahogany..I think mine ended up on poplar.... it grows sideways so the larger the board you start with, the longer your stag can remain growing undisturbed

I don't know what zone you are in and if you have to bring it in for the winter, but if you use a small board, you will very likely have to re-mount your stag on a larger board in the future.

a very strong hook or wire loop or steel chain to support it when hanging... the stag will get very heavy in the future, especially after soaked with rain. Use strong screws versus nails.

pantyhose or fishing line to attach the staghorn fern to the board.

tack in small nails in a pattern an inch or two larger than your stag. Now place some of your soaked sphagnum moss in the center of the nails (the center of your board). Lay your stag down onto the moss with the fertile frond tips up...the same direction as your mounting hook

Get some light see-through fishing line, say 5-pound test line. Tie one end of the fishing line to one of your nails. Cross over the stag to the opposite nail. Keep crossing your stag with fishing line and attaching to your nails until your stag is firmly mounted

As your stag grows, it will grow over the mounting fishing line and therefore disappear from view

If you have a small stag, you could also use strips of panty hose instead of the fishing line. The advantage of the panty hose is they will disintegrate in about a year. At that point your stag should be nicely attached to your board

Bright light but no direct sun is ideal. Your stag can handle some sun, but early morning sun only. In the wild, they always have a leaf canopy over them producing broken shade...so approximate this condition as best as possible. Do not allow windy conditions either

Feed you stag with organic food such as fish emulsion fertilizer. Another good trick is to place a banana peel (peel only) behind the stag...between the stag and the board. They like the potassium

Most people over water their stags

Water about once a week and soak the moss to do so. The water will pour through quickly so you'll have to apply a lot of water to get a little wetness in the moss...if you have let it dry out too much. If you keep the moss moderately moist, this will not be a problem. Again, water with rain water if possible. Collect the rain off your roof in a bucket for your stag

That info came from mgonline

and the link below has more or less the same info but with pics...

Hope this helps you!

Raven

Here is a link that might be useful: Mounting a Staghorn

thanks for the help...but it already has an extensive root system, so I don't know if I can do it.

thanks

Personally, I think mounting staghorns on planks, boards or whatever is a colossal pain in the neck. I use teakwood orchid baskets (see link below). The basket pictured is ocatagonal; square ones work just as well & are more readily available. I usually buy mine at places like Lowes.

When I use these baskets for staghorns, the bottom of the basket becomes the back. I stuff the basket about 2/3 full with moist long-fiber spaghnum moss, situate the fern on the moss & continue to force moss into the basket. It generally takes much more moss than you think it will. Sometimes I secure the fern with thin wire, but often the densely packed moss is enough to hold the fern securely in place.

The back (bottom) of the baskets have widely spaced openings. I simply drive a nail into the surface where I want to hang the fern & position the basket on the wall with the supporting nail between the slats.

Staghorns are much less trouble than most folks think. Spray them as often as you can, fertilize with a dilute mixture of whatever you have on hand, & get the 'potting' medium thoroughly moist 2 or 3 times a month. I soak mine in a dishpan & allow them to drain for abt an hour on the deck (weather permitting . . . otherwise, bathtubs or shower stalls suffice).

I don't know about those banana peels. They probably won't hurt, might perhaps provide a bit of sustenance, but why complicate things?

Here is a link that might be useful: Teak Basket