COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT
GROWING STAGHORN FERNS IN SUMMER
Q&A
Q: My fronds get soft and droopy.
Is it dehydration or heat stress?
If the plant is healthy overall but the fronds start to droop
in the afternoon or during the hottest part of the day,
it’s usually because transpiration increases in the heat,
causing temporary dehydration.
As temperatures drop in the evening,
he fronds will usually start to perk back up.
However, this is also a sign that your growing environment
is getting close to the plant’s heat tolerance limit.
Even if the plant recovers by evening, repeated exposure
to heat stress over a long period of time can still affect its overall growth.
Q: Is it normal for new fronds to grow smaller in summer?
If your staghorn fern is producing noticeably smaller fronds during summer,
it can be related to high temperatures and insufficient water uptake.
Not getting enough water doesn’t always mean you’re watering too infrequently.
Sometimes the growing medium isn’t being fully saturated,
or the sphagnum moss has aged and lost some of its ability to absorb water.
So even if you’re watering regularly,
the inside of the moss may not actually be getting fully hydrated.
In hot weather, a stuffy growing environment can also restrict root development.
Adding a fan to keep the air moving can make a big difference.
If the growing medium has become difficult to rehydrate even
when you water thoroughly, it may be time to replace it.
Rather than simply watering more often,
make sure the growing medium is properly saturated each time you water.
Q: Is summer a good time to remount or replace the sphagnum moss?
Yes.
If your staghorn fern has healthy roots and is actively growing,
it can be remounted or have its sphagnum moss replaced during summer.
Just avoid doing it during the hottest part of the day.
After remounting, don’t immediately put the plant back into
strong light or a high-temperature environment. Keep it in the coolest,
shadiest part of your growing space first and give it some time to adjust.
Q: Is it better to water in the morning or at night?
Try to avoid watering between 10 AM and 2 PM,
when sunlight and temperatures are usually at their strongest.
Morning or evening are both good options.
Around midday, the plant may already be dealing with heat and light stress.
Heavy watering followed by continued exposure to intense sunlight can add even more environmental stress.
Whether you water in the morning or evening, good airflow is important.
Avoid keeping your plants in an environment that is both hot and stuffy.
Q: How can I prevent heat stress in dwarf staghorn fern varieties?
First, avoid intense direct sunlight.
Some shade during summer is recommended.
Next, maintain good airflow.
When we talk about “airflow,”
we don’t simply mean having an open window
or growing your plants on an open balcony.
You should actually be able to feel the air moving around the plants.
This helps prevent hot air from building up and creating a stagnant,stuffy environment.
For example, our greenhouse can reach around 32°C (90°F)
during the hottest part of a summer day.
But we keep our fans running continuously to maintain air movement,
so the space never feels stagnant or like hot air is settling around the plants.
With proper shading, consistent hydration, and continuous airflow,
the risk of heat stress in dwarf staghorn ferns can be significantly reduced.
Q: Q: Is the treatment for heat stress the same for crested or mutated varieties?
Yes. The treatment is basically the same.
If the plant is only producing deformed leaves,
it usually indicates abnormal growth caused by high temperatures,
trapped heat, or poor air circulation.
In this case, start by improving airflow and
reducing heat buildup around the plant.
However, if the deformed leaves are accompanied by stalled growth,
browning of the growth point, or even a dried-out growth point,
the heat damage may no longer be limited to the foliage.
It may have progressed to the root system,
which means the plant will need to be rehabilitated and
encouraged to develop healthy roots again.
Remove any sphagnum moss that is not firmly
held together by the existing roots
Then switch the plant to a pot with only a thin layer of sphagnum moss,
and move it to an air-conditioned room or another
cooler environment to recover.
You can place bark or volcanic rock at the bottom of the pot
to improve drainage and aeration.
We personally use volcanic rock as the bottom layer
together with other free-draining materials.
Because volcanic rock tends to be alkaline, it can also help
slow down the acidification of the growing medium that occurs as
sphagnum moss and bark age over time.
Q: What should I do if there are a lot of ants?
Ants may build nests inside staghorn ferns. In many cases,
this is related to incomplete watering, the type of mounting material being used
,and the surrounding environment.
If you only water the surface, the inside of the moss can
remain slightly moist for long periods without ever being fully saturated.
Combined with organic materials such as bark and wooden mounting boards,
which naturally contain many holes, cracks, and crevices,
this can create an ideal environment for ants to settle in and establish a colony.
Make sure to water thoroughly every time.
Avoid keeping the plant in a condition where the outside is dry
while the inside remains continuously damp,
as this creates protected spaces where ants can hide and nest.
Regular, thorough watering can also make it more difficult
for ants to establish a permanent colony.
If ants have already moved in, you can first use an appropriate
ant-control treatment to drive them out.
After that, remove and loosen all of the sphagnum moss, soak it thoroughly,
and make sure that any remaining ants, larvae, or eggs have been completely removed.
The original wooden mounting board can also be treated by sun-drying,
thoroughly drying, or charring the surface.
This helps reduce the chance of ants returning to the same
holes and crevices to rebuild their nest.
A more direct solution is to reduce the use of organic materials
such as wood and bark altogether.
Switching to plastic or other non-organic materials can make a
significant difference in preventing ants from nesting.
For example: Gabion Board or CyberBoard
As the developers of these two products,
we have to sneak in a little advertising here.
Ant invasions are something we deal with regularly as well,
since our growing area is surrounded by farmland.
After replacing the bark and reducing the amount of organic material in our setups,
the improvement was very noticeable.
Q: What if my electricity bill gets too expensive?
Grow more plants.
Then everyone gets to share the fan,
so technically it’s a better deal. 😊
There really isn’t one perfect formula for growing staghorn ferns in summer.
You don’t need to copy someone else’s growing method exactly.
Adjust your environment until you find something that works
for your plants and for the way you like to care for them.
Happy plants, less stress for you.
Find a rhythm that works for both of you.
Stay cool & keep growing.
By Olivia
THE TRIBUS STUDIO ®
