Gardening Guides
Will This Be the New ‘It’ Plant?
You’re bound to get attached to the rainforest-evoking, no-soil-required staghorn fern
A couple of years ago, having an air plant (Tillandsia spp.) sitting soil-free on your desk or dangling in a glass orb in your window was something of a novelty; now they’re everywhere. If you’re looking for the next new thing in the quirky plant department, staghorn ferns (Platycerium bifurcatum), also called elkhorn ferns, may be just the ticket. Less ubiquitous than air plants, these funky epiphytes make beautiful wall accents and add a jungle-like feel to any room.
Here are nine ideas for using staghorn ferns in unexpected places to make a botanical statement indoors and out.
Here are nine ideas for using staghorn ferns in unexpected places to make a botanical statement indoors and out.
1. Create a wall-mounted accent. Staghorn ferns grown indoors are most commonly attached to wood blocks so that they can be easily hung on walls. In this bright San Francisco bedroom, plant designer Baylor Chapman, founder of Lila B. Design, hung a mounted fern above the headboard as a playful antler look-alike. To recreate the look, buy pre-mounted ferns from well-stocked nurseries or make them yourself.
DIY: Place the flat shieldlike base of the plant over a mound of damp sphagnum moss. Next, fasten the fern to an untreated wood block by wrapping the fern base plus moss with fishing line. To water, remove the wood block from the wall and dunk the fern, moss and wood block in a bucket of water for a few minutes each week. The sphagnum moss will absorb water like a sponge, allowing the fern to slowly absorb as much water as needed.
DIY: Place the flat shieldlike base of the plant over a mound of damp sphagnum moss. Next, fasten the fern to an untreated wood block by wrapping the fern base plus moss with fishing line. To water, remove the wood block from the wall and dunk the fern, moss and wood block in a bucket of water for a few minutes each week. The sphagnum moss will absorb water like a sponge, allowing the fern to slowly absorb as much water as needed.
2. Make an entryway statement. For a conversation starter, place a wall-mounted or potted staghorn fern by the front door. Double up on quirky style by choosing an unusual pot — like this white owl — to hold your staghorn.
For any potted staghorn ferns, make sure to monitor moisture and check that your container has drainage holes. Staghorn ferns can easily rot if the moss or soil beneath them is soggy for prolonged periods.
For any potted staghorn ferns, make sure to monitor moisture and check that your container has drainage holes. Staghorn ferns can easily rot if the moss or soil beneath them is soggy for prolonged periods.
A series of three staghorns grown in wall-mounted baskets echoes the trio of potted agaves to make an engaging entrance to a home.
3. Enliven your dining area. Add interest to a blank dining room wall with a trio of mounted ferns hung by a window. The wood blocks’ shape and texture add to the look of the vignette as a whole, especially for those hung against a plain backdrop. Wood blocks with rough, irregular edges or pieces of bark still attached look more rustic, while straight-edged boards have a more contemporary feel.
4. Create a quirky plant display. Repurpose a flea market find into a creative plant display by sinking potted staghorn ferns into open drawers, allowing them to spill over the edges. Mix with other plants that thrive in a similar light exposure, such as delicate mistletoe cactus (Rhipsalis spp.) and trailing Swiss cheese plant (Monstera obliqua) for a wild indoor jungle look.
5. Add a bohemian touch to your bathroom. Instead of sticking a common pothos vine on top of your bathroom cabinet, hang a staghorn fern and enjoy the whimsical leaves dangling down around mirrors and medicine cabinets. As long as there’s enough sunlight, staghorn ferns thrive in bathrooms, where the moist air mimics their native rainforest habitat.
6. Display as living wall art. Use mounted staghorn ferns as living pictures indoors and outside, if your climate permits. Look for blank walls with the right exposure — bright indirect or dappled light — and pick your placement as you would for hanging a picture inside the home. On this terrace outside a bedroom, a staghorn fern hung over an outdoor sofa livens up what would be a plain backdrop.
7. Make a lush living wall. Go all-out with your staghorn fern collection by hanging a bunch of them together for a lush, jungle-like statement wall. Like any vertical garden, wall-mounted staghorns can be used to bring more green to stark walls or the sides of buildings.
The designer of this vertical garden in San Francisco used a group of wall-mounted staghorn ferns of various sizes to completely transform a stairwell into a luxuriant garden.
The designer of this vertical garden in San Francisco used a group of wall-mounted staghorn ferns of various sizes to completely transform a stairwell into a luxuriant garden.
8. Mount to a tree trunk for a rainforest look. In mild-winter and tropical climates, the most natural place to plant your staghorn fern is just where the plant has evolved to thrive: fastened to a tree trunk or in the crook of a tree branch.
The staghorn will eventually cling to the tree on its own, but to get it started, gently wrap the shieldlike plant base with a small ball of sphagnum moss to the tree trunk using wire or a strip of cloth. Keep the base of the staghorn moist, particularly as it first gets established.
The staghorn will eventually cling to the tree on its own, but to get it started, gently wrap the shieldlike plant base with a small ball of sphagnum moss to the tree trunk using wire or a strip of cloth. Keep the base of the staghorn moist, particularly as it first gets established.
9. Hang a funky outdoor chandelier. If grown outdoors in hanging baskets, rather than against a wall, staghorn ferns send out their oblong leaves in all directions, forming lush globes. Hang them from the beams of covered patios where they’ll receive filtered light or from the lateral branches of shade trees.
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(Platycerium bifurcatum)
These epiphytic plants naturally grow on tree trunks and branches in the jungles of Southeast Asia, Polynesia and Australia, and need no soil to survive. Staghorn ferns thrive in temperate climates and where they’re exposed to bright, indirect light and regular moisture.
In mild, subtropical and tropical climates, staghorn ferns can be grown outside, either fastened to tree trunks or hung from hanging baskets in dappled light. In all other climates, grow staghorn ferns indoors in bright light. Water weekly and mist frequently to encourage the ferns to grow lush and healthy.
Learn more about growing staghorn ferns and other air plants