Question
Hello again Dan.

I emailed you in mid July 2012 about the lifespan of staghorn ferns and you told me what I wanted to know.

Since then I have started Stagosaurus which harvests, grows and sells staghorn and elkhorn ferns. Photos of the staghorns and elkhorns on the property are in our newly established website, which is still umber

I think that the key to long term success for the business is to grow staghorns from spores, giving me output beyond established ferns and pups.

I now have 6 mini nurseries which are beginning to show plantlets. My question is::now what? What is the process and growing medium to develop the sporelings? To get from spores to plantlets, I have used a half perlite, half peat moss mix

I hope that you can help me

Regards

David Dennis.

Answer
David hi;

That sounds like an exciting project! (I love the name Stagosaurus, by the way).

The question you ask is quite challenging.

As you may have seen in my bio, I manage one of the worlds premiere fern propagation nurseries (Milestone Agriculture, Inc. in Apopka, Florida).  

While I can provide you with theoretical information on the sporeling propagation process, I should also mention that, commercially, we find it more economical to buy the propagative material after it is already established (either in "community trays" which hold 1000 plants or so, or in aseptic agar-based media). Though more expensive, these provide a strong start with minimal loss and shrinkage.

When you propagate from your own spores, there is indeed a very low (almost negligible) startup cost, but you can expect to lose up to 99% of the material due to natural competition (algae, fungus gnats, other pest and disease).

I have found an interesting link to staghorn production from spores here:

http://vm.uconn.edu/~mro93001/platy.html

I generally concur with the process and observations described in the link.

Please let me know if I have answered your concerns or are you in need of further information.

Thanks;

DC