Elephant Staghorn (platycerium elephantotis)

ABOUT THIS STAGHORN FERN Elephant Staghorn (platycerium elephantotis) – (Lg. Specimen, 4” Pot) Grow Something Epic – This massive, fast growing Staghorn is finally back and now available in limited quantities. Elephantotis is one of the larger Staghorns available in cultivation. Given time, mounted to a wood plate or hanging from a mossy basket, this stunning fern can reach an overall height of six feet and produce mature shield leaves over 2.5 feet across. Shade loving Staghorn Elephantotis is semi-drought tolerant and loves the heat, but should be grown in a semi-moist environment. The natural, epiphytic growth habit makes them well suited for mounting on slabs of wood, trees or wire baskets hanging from a stable location. These are very healthy tropical plants with well established root system. The plants shipping now may vary in size, form and color from the images above. Please remember that no two plants are alike. Please be aware the shield-shaped leaves or basal fronds, do eventually turn brown and dry up, but don’t remove them! These basal (aka sterile) fronds provide most of the support for the plant. The growth rate and leaf color of Veitchii will vary greatly depending on soil type, sunlight, temperature and other factors. A few leaves are often trimmed prior to shipping to reduce transpiration and travel stress. QUICK SPECS OUTDOOR Zone 9b-11 PATIO Zone 4a-11 SOIL TYPE Rich Moist % SUN 70-85% POT SIZE 3×2″ Square INCLUDES One Plant STAGHORN FERN PLANT CARE Silver Elephant Staghorns are very easy to grow tropical plants that require little care indoors or out. Versatile and undemanding plants (given the right conditions) Staghorn Ferns make an attractive addition in any plant collection. They thrive in moist soils with high organic matter and grow best when provided with filtered sunlight. Hydrate the entire plant with warm water when the substrate dries out completely, around once a week. Regular misting during warmer months is also recommended to keep the underlying substrate moist. Fern plants can be grown indoors or outdoors as a remarkable landscape plant hanging or mounted from a tree fence or in a fiber basket. Indoors plants thrive at temperatures between 55°- 80°F and in lower light conditions than other house plants. They add a wonderfully tropical accent to any well-lit space or cascading from well mounted hanging basket. In very cold zones your mounted fern can be brought inside for the winter months. Be sure to avoid frost and freezing temperatures. When you receive your new Fern, there is no need to worry about planting right away. Your new plant can be stored for a while by simply placing it in a bucket with about a half inch of water in the bottom and moving it to a shady location. You can then add some mulch to keep your plant standing upright. The mulch will also supply nutrients while in storage. This will give you plenty of time to select the ideal location for your new Fern. CONTAINER SIZE Fern grow very well on a patio and indoor environment if given ample space. Remember these can grow to rather large proportions and can weigh as much as 300 pounds. Commonly grown on trees, wooden boards, and wire baskets, even suspended from chains, these ferns will quickly outgrow a traditional pot. Staghorns will attach themselves to an unfinished board naturally. If this is how you have decided to grow yours, you will need to decide on the best location for your new fern. Next acquire your board (cedar and redwood will be less rot resistant than pine or oak) and then with a few nails hammered in around the edge of the board, you can place the fern on the mount and “capture” it by crisscrossing fishing line or natural twin from nail head to nail head. This will hold your plant in place while it forms attaching hairs from the back of the shield fronds. Hang or mount where desired. SOIL Silver Elephant Staghorns Ferns enjoy well drained but moist, rich organic mix. Remember try to stay away from wet, mucky or dry, sandy soils. FERTILIZER To help establish your new Silver Elephant Staghorn Fern, a water-soluble fertilizer with a 1:1:1 ratio is recommended. Staghorn ferns can be fertilized monthly during the warm, growing months of the year and every other month when growth slows down. Frequent fertilization is only necessary when you are looking for vigorous growth. Large or mature Staghorns will survive and do quite well with one or two applications a year of controlled-release fertilizer. GROW ZONE & LIGHT Best outdoors if grown in zone 9b-11, This Fern requires 70-85% sunlight. Depending on your location filtered sun is best. In the northern end of their grow zone Silver Elephant Staghorns should be brought indoors or protected during the winter months. The patio zone is 4b-11 which means the potted or mounted plant will flourish over the summer months in colder zones but must be brought inside before frost. BEFORE YOU PLANT OUTDOORS At the nursery these Fern plants are grown under 20-40% shade cloth. If you plant this Fern in a brightly lit area you may experience leaf burn. It is best to acclimate this plant to its environment by keeping it outside and slowly moving it into a sunny area over a week or two to avoid stress before planting. WHAT IS THE SHIPPING SIZE All Silver Elephant Staghorn Fern Plants for sale will vary in size. In the spring, plants are often smaller than plants shipped in the fall. Plants designated with a sku ending in -4, -6 or -8 will arrive in a standard 4 inch, 6 inch or 8 inch round growers pot respectively. Our new, reusable, recyclable deep pots are 8 inches deep and 3×3 inches in width. Products growing in these pots are easy to transplant and allow for deeper roots and faster growth, they are designated with a sku ending in -t3, most of these often come with a wood totem. (Note: The item sku number can be found just below the buy button.) The color and style of these pots may vary. If we are out of a particular size item, we may ship a larger size at no additional charge. For more information, click the “best packaging” link at the bottom of this page. Note: Before leaving, Silver Elephant Staghorns are inspected, watered, and pruned. Larger plants, generally those that ship in 8″ pots or with totems, will be topped to 36″ or 48″ overall, depending on the variety, if necessary to facilitate shipping. Your new plants’ pot is then bagged to ensure that the soil stays in the pot and not loose in the box. Plants are tissue or kraft paper wrapped and secured in place with natural biodegradable peanuts. You may want to buy your Silver Elephant Staghorn Fern (platycerium elephantotis) online now while they are in stock. Zone.9b Zone.10a Zone.10b Zone.11a Zone.11b