Growing on Polyester
I grow staghorn ferns on mounts made of synthetic materials. This makes for a permanent mount. The nature of the polyester felt used in these mounts is very appealing to the roots of the staghorns. They grow all through the mount so that the mount is the medium.
Growing on synthetic fabric has several effects worth mentioning. One is that these mounts are free draining. In the upright mounted position, water will run out the bottom until surface tension takes over. These mounts may drain for quite a while. The fabric is very porous on a micro scale, so it can hold a lot of water. Which suits the needs of the staghorn. Like in nature, but better.
Staghorns are epiphytes - meaning they find a place to live up in the crotch of a tree. Living up in a tree a staghorn must try to catch the rain and hopefully hang on to some of it in a wad of leaves and litter. It uses it's basal fronds to wrap up that precious root space and conserve the moisture it holds. That is all the moisture it will have until the next rain. Each year it may have to survive through seasonal dry periods.
The typical way of mounting P. bifurcatum...
The typical way of mounting P. bifurcatum is to tie it to a wooden backing of some sort with sphagnum moss stuffed in between. This is a perfectly acceptable way of growing staghorns and many beautiful staghorns are grown this way. However, a common outcome of this mounting style is that eventually the sphagnum rots and, after a while, there is nothing solid left to hold the plant. It gets loose or falls off. Then it is time to replant.
The synthetic fibre mounts I make are intended to be permanent. The mount is the medium. The fine roots of the staghorn spread vigorously throughout the polyester fabric, even into dense poly fibre boards. These materials will not rot. To make the synthetic fibre matrix even more hospitable I enclose a sprinkling of moisture crystals and charcoal. The idea is to give the plant good reason to keep living roots deeply embedded in the mount. To be clear, there is little media, of the traditional sort. Just a bit around the roots from the original planting. The staghorn is growing almost entirely on a synthetic fibre matrix.
Growing on Polyester
The polyester materials are quite easy to work with and versatile, allowing for freedom of design. Ideally my staghorn mounts respond both to the health of the plant and its visual appeal. The materials I use are primarily various grades and densities of polyester felt. I assemble the mounts using hot glue. This makes a strong bond with the polyester.
Between the layers of synthetic fabric I include a sprinkling of moisture gel crystals and some natural hardwood charcoal. The moisture gel can retain a large amount of water and dole it out slowly as the plant needs it. The charcoal neutralizes ammonia and helps keep the roots happy.
