Shoot Logo
Take a photoPlans & pricingBook a demoGet started

Platycerium bifurcatum (Common staghorn fern)

Other names: Australian elk's horn fern, Elkhorn fern, Antelope ears, Platycerium alcicorne

ShootChecker™

STOP: Make sure you get the “Right Plant, Right Place.”

90% of plants die because they were the wrong plant choice. Shoot helps you to save valuable time and money to get the right plant choices for any garden.

How ShootChecker™ works

Get the Right Plant, Right Place

1

Provide details about your garden or your client's garden conditions

2

ShootChecker™ will help you assess if it is the right plant

3

Save money with Right Plant, Right Place.

Get started Book a demo

Other Shoot features

Laptop, tablet and mobile devices

One-stop planning
Streamlined garden design and record-keeping all in one place

Monthly care advice
Receive tailored monthly care advice for plants in your garden

Present and collaborate
Share designs and care tasks with anyone

Join Shoot today to enjoy…

  • ShootChecker™
  • One-stop garden design
  • Monthly care advice for every plant in your garden
  • Saving money with Right Plant, Right Place

All you need to do is join.

Get started
Book a demo

Already a member? Sign in

Add to plant list
Species
P. bifurcatum is a variable, evergreen, epiphytic fern with erect or horizontal, rounded, heart-shaped, or kidney shaped, mid-green sterile fronds turning brown with age and forked, densely hairy, grey-green fertile fronds with strap-shaped segments.
Add to plant list
ShootChecker™
Season of interest

Flower

Spring Summer Autumn Winter
Flower

Foliage

Spring Summer Autumn Winter
Foliage
Height and spread

Height and spread

Size Max height Max spread To maturity
0.9 m 0.9 m 10-20 years
2 ft 2 ft 10-20 years

Where to grow

Soil type
  • Loamy
Soil drainage
  • Moist but well-drained
  • Well-drained
Soil pH
  • Neutral
Sunlight
  • Partial Shade
Aspect
  • East
  • West
  • South
Exposure
  • Sheltered

Check to see if this is the Right Plant, Right Place with ShootChecker™

Open ShootChecker™

Additional plant details

Cultivation

Under glass, grow epiphytically on bark, wood, etc., in an equal mix of coarse leaf mould (or peat), sphagnum moss, loam, and charcoal in bright filtered light and hight humidity. In growth, water freely, mist daily, and feed monthly. Do not allow roots to dry out. Benefits from occasional immersion of the entire root ball in water for several minutes and then drained. Water sparingly in winter. In frost-free areas, grow epiphytically on a tree in partial shade.

Suggested uses

Containers/Patio, Sub-Tropical, Woodland, Greenhouse, Indoor

UK hardiness

H1b

USDA zones

Zone 9, Zone 10, Zone 11, Zone 12

Sunset zone

15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, H2

WUCOLS

North-Central Coastal = Unknown
Central Valley = Unknown
South Coastal = Unknown
South Inland = Unknown
High and Intermediate Desert = Unknown
Low Desert = Unknown

Foliage

Evergreen

Habit

Pendulous

Native to

Eastern Australia

Drought tolerant

No

Flood tolerant

No

Toxicity

Not toxic

Plant care

Pruning

Propagation methods

Spores, Pot up sprouting plantlets

Pests

Scale insects

Diseases

Generally disease-free.

Water regularly through dry periods

Sow spores or seeds as soon as ripe on moist compost

Bring tender indoors if container grown (in cold areas)

Fertilise with balanced liquid feed

Mist plants to create a humid atmosphere

Plant in partial or full shade (autumn or spring)

Other plants

Plants in this Genus (2)

Platycerium

Select all Deselect all
0 selected Add to a plant list
0 selected
Platycerium bifurcatum
View
Select
Platycerium bifurcatum Common staghorn fern
Platycerium superbum
View
Select
Platycerium superbum Giant staghorn fern
Select all Deselect all Add to a plant list

Companion plants (0)

Related content

Discuss Platycerium bifurcatum with other Shoot members
Read more
TOP