Ken, It seems many of us grow the same plants. :greengrin:
I only have a small
Common Staghorn Fern (Platycerium bifurcatum) but I've seen some real giants here in Florida over the years. I'm acquainted with an elderly couple who used to have a Staghorn so large that it required very thick, heavy chains to hang it in their oak tree. They would just throw a blanket over it during the cold of winter and it always amazed me that it survived since we do have prolonged freezes at times. Next time I see them I will have to try and remember to ask if they still have that monster plant. There are a few biggies at our little botanical gardens here in town but I guess the area must has a little microclimate with all the trees to offer protection during the winter ... or else the Staghorn Fern is a lot hardier than I realized. I bring my little one into the screened porch during cold weather.
Ursula: Wow, that is a beauty! I'm sure that nursery appreciated the donation of that one!
I wonder, have ya'll ever had issues with ants taking over your staghorn? I went to move my little one a couple of days ago and hundreds of little black ants came running out from beneath the basal cone thing and last year when working at our botanical gardens some of us were cleaning up an area around one of the large ferns and visitors began asking about the plant as they'd never seen one before and one of the kids went up to feel one of the "horns" and thousands of ants started streaming out! That particular plant was attached to the top and sides of a huge wooden boxlike structure so I'm assuming the rotted wood became a nesting place for the ants but my small plant is not on wood but just sitting in a wire basket ... I guess maybe the ants just find it a good place to nest? I've heard that cinnamon is an ant deterrent so I'm going to sprinkle a bit of ground cinnamon around to see if the ants will move on.
I also grow the Elkhorn Fern; bought this one a number of years ago as a small plant in a little 3" pot and it's done very well for me. I see that Polypodium grandiceps is now considered a synonym:
Elkhorn Fern (Microsorum punctatum) and it's odd, in the database it shows a dwarf variety with the cultivar name of 'Grandiceps':
Dwarf Elkhorn Fern (Microsorum punctatum 'Grandiceps') and I thought that was a species name.
This is my Elkhorn Fern:
