Segment: Stag Horn Planting Strategies
Episode: Spring 2019, Ep02
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane
TX Date: 14th September 2019

Stag Horns and Elk Horns are ferns that usually grow in the forks of tree branches. Almost anyone can grow them, but they will eventually need splitting up.

• These plants are known as epiphytic plants, and can be worth quite a lot of money.
• Splitting up your overgrown plants is one of the easiest things you can do in the garden – the plants grow off dead fibrous material, so most of this can be cut away.
• As each plant is an individual plant, splitting them gives you more plants, with spring being the best time of year to do this.
• Make sure to cut off as much as possible, as this will allow your plants to be flexible. Then you can simply secure the shields onto a flat board or a log. While it may not look great initially, the plant will grow a new shield in time.
• While you can use sphagnum moss as a backing material, leaf litter will do the exact same thing.
• Applying a naturally based plant food, such as fish emulsion or Powerfeed liquid on a fortnightly basis will help your plants fill out faster.
• Make sure to keep your plant growing in a shaded position and to keep it moist – while drying out won’t kill the plant, it will hinder their growth.
• Splitting your stag horn can make you money. The original plant could be worth upwards of $100, whereas the split plants could be worth around $50.