My sister has a staghorn fern. It’s huge, kind of like the one in this picture, though hers is not as prolific as this one.

hI have always loved it, and finally was able to find one at our local Tuesday fresh market. It is in a pot. The man who runs that booth explained that it is just a cutting from another larger plant and needs to develop roots, so I should leave it in that pot for awhile. He also told me it didn’t need to be watered, which my sister also told me. I maybe didn’t hear that right though, maybe just during the rainy humid season it doesn’t need it.

I hung it out on my deck from the overhang when I bought it last summer. It did pretty well then, I suppose because it rains every day and is so humid here. Now that the weather has dried up some, it’s not doing so well. I just googled the care of it, and it seems that now I need to attach it to a board, after I wrap the roots ball in burlap and soak it. It also does well in a wire basket if you want to hang it. Mine is in a pot. I’m sure that by now, it’s got roots and needs to be put in a pot or hung on a board (which seems to be the preferred method). So I have some work to do on it.

I am not a gardener. I have a small herb garden, but truth be told, Dan takes care of it much more than me. Last year, I did ok watering the herbs so I could use them for cooking. I manage to water my shrubs in front of the house when necessary, if Dan doesn’t have time (though, you might remember last time I did this I got 6 hornet stings on my butt.) But honestly, watering is about the extent of my gardening.

I really wanted one of these staghorn ferns. This plant, once I get it properly hung with the burlap, in the right place, seems like the care is pretty easy. Water it every so often, and mist it. Legend has it that you can fertilize it with a banana peel. I guess that I need to take the responsibility on to care for it. Seems like it’s easier than a cat or a dog to deal with, right?

It should be, but at the moment I am afraid I’ve killed it, neglected it beyond repair. I hope not. I hope I can save it. I don’t know why I didn’t look up the proper care of it when I bought it, instead of thinking I’d bought a plant that needed nothing but whatever nature gave it. My naivete is astounding at times.

Live and learn, I guess. We are all a work in progress.

Love and light.