I have a P. veitchii 'Lemoinei' that I ordered online. It looked great when I got it. I kept it in bright light but out of sun for about a week or a little more, then started adding sun. It was in direct sun for a couple of hours for a few days, and I noticed today that it's "softer" feeling, and a bit limp, although it's not drooping YET. It's definitely not firm like it was when I got it. It felt dry several days after I got it, and I watered it. When I just now saw it's limpness now, I watered it again. Soil felt dry. It's in a 4" pot. Do you think it got too much sun, too soon? They prefer more sun than other staghorns, or so I've read. They also like more arid conditions, which I have. I have blocked the sun on it for now, until I hear something from you guys. Thank you.

I did not see your message until now. I grow hundreds of staghorns including the 'Lemoinei'. Though I love for my stags to get a couple of hours of early morning or late afternoon sun, I don't give any of my stags sun from 11:00 AM until 4:00 PM. The vast majority of staghorns grow in trees and the canopy of leaves protect them from direct sun. I would suggest you grow it the same as I do. I also suggest you mount that plant and grow it as it does in nature. Once your staghorn has recovered and is fully established, you can gradually increase the amount of sunlight. But since you don't state where you live, I really don't know just how much sun you can acclimate it to.

Thank you for the response! It's not limp anymore, as I cut its light down to only dappled sunlight for a couple hours a day. It seems to be happy with that. I know the Lemoinei can tolerate more sun than some other stags, likes lower humidity, and I like the fact that it stays pretty small compared to the others. I live in the S. California High Desert, so when the sun comes through the window, it's BRIGHT and HOT! I think I saved it though, as only one leaf was lost. Thank you again!

Drdawgs right i think you gave it too much light.

I bought a staghorn fern about 2 months ago and it looked great. It is mounted on a plaque and in sphagnum moss. For the past few weeks it is limp, growing downward and just wilting a little. It is on the wall in the bathroom with a skylight and I make sure it gets plenty of humidity from a hot bath or shower. I spray a good amount of water on it once a week and soak the roots with the spray. What could be wrong with it? I really want to save it.

Welcome to NGA, @Tesy. Please take a moment to go to your "Profile" and enter your location, including your USDA zone. It helps to know this when answering or asking questions.

In my experience, your plant is drying out far too much and for far too long. Young plants need much more frequent watering than those that are mature. Your plant is less than 1 yr. old, and that's a really young plant. I would begin to deeply water (soak the plant in a tub, basin, or bucket for 30-60 min.) every 3-4 days and then, once you see all those fronds perk up, you can do this weekly. Simply misting/spraying your stag just won't cut it. Believe it or not, a skylight may afford very little (bright) light to your staghorn. It all depends on the type of skylight, its orientation to the sun, and how much sun actually strikes it and for what amount of time (tree shading, for example).

Lack of sufficient bright light won't kill your stag but it will result in far slower growth. Deal with the water issue first and foremost, and then decide whether your light is sufficient. Fertilizer is needed for best growth, but for now, no fertilizer. Begin that in the spring, 1/2 dose of balanced fertilizer every other month will give you good results.

Welcome to NGA, @Tesy. Please take a moment to go to your "Profile" and enter your location, including your USDA zone. It helps to know this when answering or asking questions.

In my experience, your plant is drying out far too much and for far too long. Young plants need much more frequent watering than those that are mature. Your plant is less than 1 yr. old, and that's a really young plant. I would begin to deeply water (soak the plant in a tub, basin, or bucket for 30-60 min.) every 3-4 days and then, once you see all those fronds perk up, you can do this weekly. Simply misting/spraying your stag just won't cut it. Believe it or not, a skylight may afford very little (bright) light to your staghorn. It all depends on the type of skylight, its orientation to the sun, and how much sun actually strikes it and for what amount of time (tree shading, for example).

Lack of sufficient bright light won't kill your stag but it will result in far slower growth. Deal with the water issue first and foremost, and then decide whether your light is sufficient. Fertilizer is needed for best growth, but for now, no fertilizer. Begin that in the spring, 1/2 dose of balanced fertilizer every other month will give you good results.

Thank you so much for your advice. I tend to overwater plants so I was worried about overwatering it. I am in Canada, In Cambridge Ontario. Im not sure how to edit my profile. I have a water softener, so I'm wondering if the softened water will damage the fern? I feel better knowing that I can possibly save it with watering. Any thoughts on softened water? Thanks again!

Click on the little fella in the upper right corner and the click on "Your Profile". When the next page comes up click on "Change your public profile". Then on the next page simply fill in your location and your "Plant Hardiness Zone". You can find your zone by Googling "Plant Hardiness Zones of Canada". Your hardiness zone would probably correspond on a Zone 0, a zone that covers the far northern tier of states in the USA.

I am sorry, I simply don't know anything about watering with "softened" water. If you can, collect rain (or perhaps snow......LOL) and use that at room temperature. You can certainly purchase bottled water to use as well.

Agree with Ken...
Water softeners that use salt, (i've heard of such, but not personally in the know) would be a huge no-no.

Hello:
I live in Florida and purchased these 2 staghornes from Lowes some time ago in
small flower pots. I took them out of the small pots and put them in the hanging
pots with moss. One seems to be doing very well and leaves look firm and green,
however the other one has leaves that started drooping and not as green.
I keep them in the pool enclosure under the soffit which gets filtered sun.
I mist them with water maybe 2 times a week, water them when they look dry,
and every other month give them miracle grow. I also give them banana peels.
Can anyone help me and tell me what might be wrong with the one with the
drooping leaves? I have attached photos of both.Thank you

What time of day did you take the pics? A small amount of morning sun might be tolerable, but, any amount of full sunshine could be an issue. Think I'd hang them a bit further back under the eaves.
Also think I'd give the droopier one a deeper soaking. Just looks really dry to me.

I agree with Tara. The droopy one looks to me like the "root-ball" has been allowed to dry out, and when this happens, it soaks up moisture very slowly. I don't think that it's a sun issue though. I would soak this plant in a sink or a bucket of water for an hr. to get that root-ball re-hydrated. It's practically impossible to tell when these plants have dried, at least visually. Get used to picking up the plant when it is dry and then again when it is well-watered. You can tell by the weight when it needs water.

Thank you Tara and Ken, I appreciate your replies.
I am soaking for the hour as I write this reply. I took the
photos around 9am today.
Also, could you recommend a good fertilizer? I was using
the miracle grow liquid.

Miracle grow is fine. It's a balanced formula. I would use it at half the recommended dilution, spring, mid-summer, and early fall.

Hello all, I am from Malaysia and new to this group. I need some help here with my limping ridleyi!

Long story short, I have a ridleyi that I've got a few weeks back started limping. I have no idea if it's due to too much watering (which I don't believe so because I only hose it once a week or so) or too dry. Worse part is, some were mentioning that hanging it upside down could kill it? Honestly, I have no idea of its orientation by just looking at it. The other staghorns that I hang up next to the ridleyi, different IDs, all thriving. Please help! I am attaching some photos here. Thanks so much!

Too dry. In my experience, orientation is of no importance, though the reverse side of the fronds will be more sun-sensitive.