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Mounting Platyceriums


The Silent Seed

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Hi gang,

Platyceriums are a new thing for me - On my last FL trip, I was given a mounted plant (Can somebody ID it by a photo?) - At first, it got too much sun - sunburn, and kept drying out - but in the fall I brought it inside, obviously - and started showering with it once a week - seriously - It responded by growing back in leaps and bounds - it is now one of my favorite plants, after never really caring for them before.

I just got another one (Potted) - It's a nice plant in a 6 inch pot - and has not formed shields yet, but I can see it's beginning to. (Again, no name, but at $10, I wasn't going to leave it there.) I would like to mount it - but never have done that before. Does anyone here have some pointers? And where would I get the appropriate plank (or whatever else?)

That said - does anyone else here grow any?

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They are, as you found out, a pretty easy plant to keep alive, providing you keep the moss moist and ample light. What most growers do, get a piece of flat wood maybe twice the size of your plant. Then fasten a nail or u shape nail in each of the four corners. Put a handful of moss on the wood, press the plant onto it and then get some kind of wire or telephone wire and criss cross over it to the nails. Make sure the wires are firm, so when you pick it up it doesn't slide around.

Searle Brothers Nursery Inc.

and The Rainforest Collection.

Southwest Ranches,Fl.

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Thanks! It may be a silly question, but are certain woods toxic, or disliked? Cedar, for instance ? Pine ?

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Gotta disagree with on one point Jeff. Actually Platyceriums are the one fern that likes to dry out. In situ they go extended periods of no rainfall and have developed the knack of curling their leaves to retain moisture. Not to say that with the humidity in Florida this is different but out here I've seen a good share die due to the media being kept damp.

 

 

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My father had a huge one (Platycerium bifurcatum) in a tree for years. Formed a rounded ball almost 2 metres in diameter. If you pressed the shield fronds water would seep out. It was saturated most of the time, especially winter. Unfortunately the tree reached the end of its life, no doubt aided by the weight and the constantly wet trunk, and began to collapse.

You can also suspend them without a backing board, I use a plastic chain. Tie 2 plants back to back around the chain and it will form a ball of multiple plants. Plastic chains won't rust, but they won't have the strength as the plant gets larger.

You don't have to over water them, but they need to stay a bit moist at least. Rain water is best, like a lot of ferns they can be a bit touchy on water quality.

Species like P. veitchii are more suited to drier conditions and can withstand more direct sun and (a degree of) drought. They're not as common as the bifurcatum.

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A strong metal chain is a great idea as they do eventually get quite large and rather heavy. There are endless ways to mount them, orchid baskets work quite well and those wire, half round, hanging baskets with the coco coir liners. Using a decent amount of sphagnum moss to start off with will make them a bit less high maintenance as it will hold some moisture and your plants won't dry out as quickly. Here in Florida outdoors the rule of thumb is to just leave them alone and let nature take care if them. Indoors of course is a different story. Gonzer is correct that they don't like too much water , they can dry out a bit between watering a and will perform much better if you let this happen. Too much water can cause them to rot :) have fun with your mounting project, it' going to be a piece of cake! They divide nicely as well so their easy to propagate :)

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Here's one that I started 8 or 9 months ago in an orchid basket, it's already starting to cover all sides of the basket with new growth :) by this summer you won't be able to see the basket and they're will be leaves covering all 6 sides :)

post-9514-0-97810500-1391275883_thumb.jp

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WOW Palmdude! :greenthumb:

That's a happy Platycerium! Which species is it?

Can you show us more pics?

5809129ecff1c_P1010385copie3.JPG.15aa3f5

Philippe

 

Jungle Paradise in Sri Lanka

 

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That's a beaut!

I like the appearance of them mounted on a slab of wood. Anyone know if they would dislike pine or cedar?

They definitely like to dry out a little - I know there are a few obscure species that can't dry out - but the common ones such as these, rot when overwatered.

Anyone know a good place to get smaller plants for not too much money ? I'd like to try one new species, to expand my learning curve. The two I have are just generics as far as I know. (Assuming they are bifurcatums?)

Can they be identified by the leaves ?

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pine would not last long .. seen short sections of storm water PVC pipe used by plumber mate .

Trev grows them well , and uses a bag of leaf mould/compost to wrap plant around ..

banana peels are a no no just an urban myth

post-354-0-28629000-1391290774_thumb.jpg

Michael in palm paradise,

Tully, wet tropics in Australia, over 4 meters of rain every year.

Home of the Golden Gumboot, its over 8m high , our record annual rainfall.

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That is an AMAZING photo - I love how the "baby" is trying to grab a coconut! Too funny.

Really? Re: bananas. I've heard that so many times - good to know it's just a myth, because I was about to experiment putting a small piece of peel on mine. (Fruit flies galore, I am sure.)

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The Platycerium Bifurcatum is somewhat easy to grow and low cost for beginner. Some other types would require more care, cold sensitive ,and wet sensitive. This is how I mount my Staghorn fern http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hK5hjEcoX4&list=TLnhHQr3mvQHp3YlNjSaEzE-v1uKpwpeyg

Check other on youtube too and find the way that work for you.

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Charles Alford sells some really nice Platyceriums. I've always been satisfied with the value to price ratio. He only sells four times a year though. You have to e-mail him to get on his list. But he offers many neat epiphytic ferns that you can't get elsewhere.

Tom has a nice collection of Platyceriums...all outdoors year around here in Southern California. Also good value to price ratio.

Growing Platyceriums from spore is pretty easy. The hardest part is the waiting.

One thing that's pretty great about Platyceriums is that they make perfect baskets for all types of plants. This can greatly increase the value to space ratio. For example...

Dischidia

Begonias, Impatiens

Orchids (Oncidium, Zygopetalum)

Rhipsalis

Vireya

Bifurcatums are fairly common here in Southern California...so if somebody shows me one it's like showing me an empty basket. I have the same perspective with bonsais. A nice bonsai will have a pretty decent value to space ratio...but it's still a tree without anything growing on it. It's a blank canvas.

Hopefully in the future every Platycerium will have at least one plant growing in it and every bonsai will have at least one epiphyte growing on it.

Imagine if Frank attends a bonsai show or a fern show. Let's say that he has a budding general interest in plants. What's the average amount of time he spends looking at each entry? Two seconds? I'm pretty sure if each bonsai and Platycerium had one companion plant...then the total amount of time he spent looking at the exhibits would increase. How much would the total time increase if each entry had two companion plants?

Depending on the preferences of the exhibitors...the companion plants could stand out and instantly grab your attention...or they could be more like Easter Eggs (media).

When I first moved into my house...my plant friends would walk right past my Cedar tree. As I started attaching more and more plants to it...visitors would linger longer and longer. I refer to this as the Man Man Zou standard. It's Chinese for "walk slow"...or "walk carefully". As in you'll want to take your time so that you don't miss any delightful details.

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