Thanks for the "plug"@dyzzypyxxy. I can supply all the stags
@plantcollector wants. Multiple staghorn (seedlings) are much less expensive than purchasing a single one.
I agree with you. Unless someone is really into experimentation, and has sterile, laboratory-like conditions, from what I understand, growing from spore (at least when it comes to staghorn ferns) is very tedious, very difficult. I love to experiment but would never attempt to grow these plants from spores.
Heath, in my experience, a staghorn has to be a minimum of 3 years old to begin to develop those spore plaques. Some varieties take 5 or more years. If you have never seen the spore formation, these plaques at the ends of the fronds are interesting. Many people have contacted me over the years telling me that their stag. has developed some sort of weird disease. When they describe what they see and/or send me pictures, it almost always is simply those spore plaques beginning to form. These plaques seem to appear almost overnight, but it takes several months. We just notice them when they are fairly well developed.
