Staghorn Ferns are one of the coolest most fascinating plants to use in home decor. They are great planted in a planter, but the really cool thing is that they can also be mounted on a board and hung on your wall, just like a living picture! Today we’re going to talk all about how to mount and care for Staghorn Ferns.

Staghorn Fern 101

Staghorn Ferns are a species called Epiphyte which means that they don’t need soil to grow, the reason that you can hang them on the wall. They are in the same family as airplants, and in the wild find a host, that they attach their roots to and pull all of their nutrients in through their fronds.

Staghorn Ferns have 2 different types of leaves (or fronds).

The first type is the “antler” leaf, they are long with uneven tips and vary in size. They grow from the center of the plant and jut out in every direction. The second type of leaf is the shield frond. These flat circular leaves grow against the base of the plant. When they sprout, and until they reach full size they are green and veiny, once they are fully grown, they turn brown and papery. DO NOT REMOVE THE BROWN LEAVES!! These leaves form a protective shield over the root ball and help it stay anchored in place.

The roots on the Staghorn Fern are fairly minimal (one of the reasons you can mount them!)  They need a good amount of drainage so that they don’t get root rot.

Watering

Watering a mounted Staghorn Fern is a little bit of a commitment, because they absorb water through their fronds, they love a good misting. The root ball also needs to be soaked every 1-2 weeks. Keep reading, I’ve got a whole step by step tutorial at the end of this post!

Light

Staghorn Ferns, love bright indirect sunlight. Find the brightest room in your house without direct light and that is where they will thrive.

Are you ready to learn how to mount them?! Let’s get started with our step by step tutorial.

How To Mount Staghorn Ferns

Mounting Staghorn Ferns should be done on rot resistant wood like cedar. Because of the aggressive way that they are watered, and the fact that they are so closely connected to the wood, you need something that can last long term.

You’ll need:

• Cedar board
• Fishing Line
• Stainless Steel Screws
• Heavy Duty Picture Hanger
• Sphagnum Moss (i.e. Sheet Moss) You can find this in the indoor garden section at Home Depot.

Make your shield

1. Fold a piece of paper in 1/2, making sure that when it’s unfolded, it fits onto your cedar board.
2. Draw a shield shape
3. Cut it out and trace it onto your cedar board.
4. Cut out your shape with a jigsaw

The edges got a light sanding and they were ready to go!

Start by mounting a heavy duty picture hanger on the back, the large plants can get pretty heavy when they are wet.

To Divide or Not To Divide, That is the Question

Staghorn ferns have rhizomes (remember we talked about those here?) which means that there are different growth points that can be divided. It is really easy to tell where to divide these plants because of the shield leaves. That being said, the roots are really dense. They’re teeny in size but mighty in numbers. You want to use a knife to gently divide them.

You don’t need to divide the plants to mount them though. If you want a larger statement piece, you can simply remove the plant from the pot and get rid of the excess dirt.

Determining Your Root Ball Size

When you’ve successfully divided and conquered, loosen the roots and remove a good amount of the dirt.

Your root ball should be about the size of a fist for smaller plants, and continue larger as the size of the stag increases. You can tell the general size based on the shield leaves, make your ball about the size of the shield leaves width.

Mounting Your Staghorn

Now that we have our mount ready, and our plant ready, we’re going to marry the two in complete happiness!

Step #1: Determine Your Screw Placement

Lay your fern on the mount and see the general space it takes up. Mark 4 spots just inside the root ball borders, this is where your screws are going to go

Pro Tip! If you screw them in at an angle its easier to wrap your fishing line around.

Step #2: Place a small amount of moss onto your board

When you are mounting the plant you want to do it so that the dried shield leaves are at the top, but not directly against the board (or else the plant will shoot straight up and not up and out. Especially the little guys.)

Step #3: Secure Your Root Ball On Top of the Moss

Put your root ball on top of the moss, and lightly secure it to the board using fishing line. (I used 12 lb test line and probably wouldn’t recommend anything thinner)  When I say lightly I mean not too tight and across the root ball just a few times. This is just making it easier when you put the moss on top.

Step #4: Add More Moss

Spread a not too thick/not too thin layer of sheet moss over the root ball and up around the back of the plant at the top. You don’t want to see the dirt at all.

Step #5: Secure Everything With Fishing Line

Wrap the fishing line really thoroughly over the root ball, connecting the screws in all directions. Make sure that you aren’t getting too close to the living shield leaves, and don’t go over the top of the dried ones, just gently lift them and go underneath. If you go over the top of the dried leaves, the fishing line will cut through them.

Step #6 Finish It Off

Tuck a few bits of moss over the screws to hide them. Trim your fishing line and you are done!!

How To Water A Mounted Staghorn Fern

To water your fern, fill up a sink or tub with water and submerge the plant (I usually stick it in up to the moss)

How about a pool party? Everybody in!

When the moss is completely soaked through, drain the water and place them sort of upright to let all the excess water drain off.

Staghorn Ferns need constant moisture, so I do this about once a week and mist the moss with a squirt bottle almost every day.

Do you want to see something cool? I decided to remount the plant that came mounted (the board was ick looking)  This is what the backside of the ferns look like after they’ve been attached to a host for a while.

Don’t they totally look like antlers?! I wish you could tell in these pictures how big they are.

See you tomorrow!

The post How to Mount (and Care for) a Staghorn Fern appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

I know that Plant Week was last week, but I got to Atlanta last Wednesday and realized that I forgot to shoot this fail-proof tip. Soooooo I guess its Plant Week + 1 day!

I’ve tried a lot of different ways of handling cactus for planting. Everything from leather gloves to salad tongs. But the problems are always the same. If I actually touch the cactus (even wearing gloves) I always get poked. Those little suckers work their way through the gloves no matter how thick they seem. And if I try to plant without touching it (like using tongs) I don’t ever have enough control over the situation. Especially if there is more than one growth on the cactus.

But necessity is the mother of invention, and I had a lot of planting to do for Plant Week. And most of all I didn’t want to spend $20 on a pair of leather gloves that would get filled with microscopic needles that would have to be trashed 5 minutes later.

I looked around my kitchen and came up with a pretty great solution.

All you need for poke-less cactus planting is a paper grocery bag!!

Cut it in 1/2.

Fold the bottom in 1/2. This is where your hand will go when you hold the cactus.

Trim down the length and you are done!

Seriously that’s it!! If your cactus is really heavy you might want to double up on the bags, but for smaller cacti one is totally sufficient. The long sharp needles don’t go through.

And the teeny furry ones (that are actually the spawn of Satan if you were unaware) don’t stand a chance.

This way you can hold the cactus, loosen the roots and move it around as much as you need to without getting poked!

The post 100% Poke-less Cactus Planting (You’ll Die When You See What the Trick Is!!) appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Its PLANT WEEK!!!!!!!! Do you even know how exciting this is?!? Its like Shark Week but WAYYYYY better and with a lot less fear (mostly). Every day this week I have got an amazing project for you that will make the love in your plant-lovin heart swell to massive proportions.

So I get it. We’re not all plant-errificly gifted. Its fine. But just because you cant actually keep things alive doesn’t make you a bad person, it just makes you a bad plant owner. Just kidding. I know, its hard. But its ok because I have a bunch of plant treasures that require zero watering, sunshine, or guilt.

Black and White Cactus Print from Arrow and Apple. GET THIS. RIGHT NOW. Seriously.

Watercolor Cactus Print from Fox Hollow Cottage

Botanical Sumi from Minted + Domino

Aspen Minted + domino

Minimal Cactus Print Throw Pillow

Palm Leaf Throw

Green Watercolor Throw Pillow

Cactus Sketches (**I’m having problems with the shop checkout so if you are interested in these send an email to vintagerevivalsblog@gmail.com with your order and I will get it sent off!)

Have the best Friday of your life!

The post 8 Finds for the Self Confessed Plant Killer appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Its PLANT WEEK!!!!!!!! Do you even know how exciting this is?!? Its like Shark Week but WAYYYYY better and with a lot less fear (mostly). Every day this week I have got an amazing project for you that will make the love in your plant-lovin heart swell to massive proportions.

You.GUYS!! I hope you are enjoying this fun weeklong series as much as I am. It was just the kick start that I needed to get back into project life.

I am not exaggerating when I tell you that today’s project is one of my most favorite EVER. Ever ever.

About 6 months ago I pinned this awesome picture because hello I want to move in there yesterday. For months I have been itching to recreate this modern trellis project in my home, and hooray! for finally getting around to it!

This wall in my kitchen eating nook was the perfect spot. There is a ton of light and you know how plants love that. And the ceilings are sooo tall (10 ft) that it is a major statement. A statement that says “I Hoard Plants”. So in an effort to get all of the little guys evicted out of their current residence (i.e. the kitchen table) this wall became their new home.

Also this was majorly one of those make it up as you go projects, so if you are going to recreate it make sure that you read all the words, and not just skim the pictures. Cause without the words the pictures are a leeeeeeetle confusing.

Every one’s wall dimensions will be different but the basic premise is the same. Start by taking the width of your wall and divide it in 3rds. This will give you 2 points to work off of.

I started by cutting a few different angles on my miter saw (because I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted it to look like and what angle would achieve that) a 60 degree angle ended up being just right.

To be completely transparent, when I was doing this project there was a lot of temporarily putting boards up to make sure that they were going to work and double measuring before I made the cuts.

There were a handful of long boards that extended the width of several diamonds. I didn’t really have a rhyme or reason for which ones went where, it was just where they made the most sense.

Once the 120 degree base angle boards were up, all I did was fill it in with boards that were cut to 15” and had a 60 degree parallel angles on both ends.

You know how sometimes I have those “I can teach it to you but I cant understand it for you” tutorials? This is one.

*One thing to note, when you are working on a miter saw, 90 degrees is 0, you subtract your angle from that. So to cut a 30 degree angle, I needed to set my saw blade at 60 degrees. Because 30 + 60 is 90. (The reason most people overlook this is because the most common angle is 45 and that is exactly 1/2 of 90, so you set your blade at 45.)

To cut the starting boards set your saw at 60 degrees. (2) 60 degree cuts joined together will make 120 degrees. The 15” boards with the parallel angles get a 60 degree angle at the end of each board, which means your blade will be set at the 30 degree mark on the saw.

To finish off an outside corner, take the measurement of your board (15”) and add the width (2”) so you’ll cut the outside corner boards to 17”. Or you can do what I did and use long boards to start/end the outside corner boards.

Once everything was in place with tap/temporary nails, I went back through and secured it with finishing nails. Make sure that you are hitting studs when you are finishing everything up so that it can hold the weight of your planters!

The original plan was to use cup hooks and these little egg shaped hanging planters that I found on Amazon (you can see it in the bottom left of the picture below)

But they looked so…

dinky.

So I scrapped the idea and decided to come up with a way to hold regular sized containers instead.

I scored all of the planters on clearance at Target and gave them a coat of Rust-Oleum Flat White 2X spray paint.

The leather that I used was left over from my couch reupholstery and if you know me at all you know that I LOVE leather. Like its probably a problem but I’m just so happy about it I don’t even care.

The most important thing is to make sure that you leather will fit snuggly around your planter on all sides with the edges overlapping 1/2”. The main strap measures 14”x2” and 2 cross straps measure 10”x1/2” each. To get the right measurement for the bottom straps all you have to do is drape a piece on an upside down planter and make sure it’s hitting just above the rim.

Fold your main strap in 1/2 (hotdog style) and using a leather punch you are going to punch 6 evenly spaced holes through both sides. I folded mine because I didn’t want it to stretch. If you have thick leather you most likely wont need to fold.

Take the 1/2” pieces and find the center point on each and punch a hole there as well as on each end.

Using a grommet setter (get them at Home Depot they are so much cheaper than craft stores!) you are going to attach everything together, starting with the center holes on the 1/2” straps.

Next put one end of the 1/2” pieces inside the main folded piece and line up the hole. Attach all 4 ends just like that.

Set the grommets in the 2 reaming holes and you are done! (and left with what appears to be a leather jockstrap. You’re welcome.)

Fold the edges over and line up the holes, this is where you are going to attach it to the wall. Place a screw inside the grommets.

Drill it onto the center the diamond points (make sure the sides are straight and not droopy!)

Yay! It’s not a jockstrap anymore!

They’ll hang a little, but you don’t want it to droop too much.

Fill it with your favorite plants (see more about how to do that here!)

Man I just love the wild and crazy hair on this little guy!!

Now, lest you think that my house is not suffering immensely from all of this planting… I present to you, the work station. Just out of shot.

See you tomorrow plant lovers!

The post DIY Wood and Leather Trellis Plant Wall appeared first on Vintage Revivals.

Its PLANT WEEK!!!!!!!! Do you even know how exciting this is?!? Its like Shark Week but WAYYYYY better and with a lot less fear (mostly). Every day this week I have got an amazing project for you that will make the love in your plant-lovin heart swell to massive proportions.

I feel like marbling is one of those fun crafty type projects that everyone needs to try at least once, its just so pretty to see everything swirl together. The problem is that almost all of the tutorials online use fingernail polish. Which is great….unless you want to do something bigger and then before you know it you’ve spent $78 on nail polish. My brain was churning about this and I realized that you don’t need nail polish, you just need an oil based paint! Like (dun dun dun dun dun duuuuuun!) Spray Paint!!

So here is how you do it.

First things first, you’ll need a container large enough to fit your planter in it. My planter was pretty big so I used a storage tote but a 5 gallon bucket would totally work.

*I recommend trying it out a few times on paper cups to get the technique down before you start on your planters.

Round up your spray paint colors. I used a selection of RustOleum and LOVED the way that the metallic gold turned out, so use that!

Tape off your designs (if that is what you are going for)

Fill your container with water and start adding spray paint.

You have a pretty short window of time to work (you’ll see why in a second). Hold your can about 10 inches away from the water, if you get it too close it splashes the water up and creates little texture bubbles on your finished piece.

Gently tap the sides of your bucket to swirl the colors. By gently I mean create soft waves, not splashes (because texture bubbles)

Slowly dip your planter into the water. If you go too fast, or if your paint is too dry, the paint surface will break and you’ll get gaps with uneven edges (and not in a cute way.)

Submerge the planter in as far as you want and hold it there for about 30 seconds while you lightly fan the paint surface to quicken the drying. Using painters tape made it so that any wiggling that happened (and subsequently added more paint) didn’t stay on the planter, it came off with the tape.

This next step is a 2 handed job so I don’t have a picture but…use a spoon to swipe away all of the remaining surface paint. This will make it so your planter comes out with a clean design.

If you look closely in the picture below you can see texture lines in the lightest part of the paint. That is because the surface was starting to dry. Move fast and you wont get those!

Let it dry completely before removing the tape.

Ok so are you ready for a real life moment? I had this surface all prepped and ready for dipping (so pretty right?!)

I was using a large light weight plastic planter and it was SO HARD to push it down all the way (it wanted to float dang it!)

I got so wrapped up in making sure that the entire thing was covered that I didn’t realize that my hand was in the paint…

Or my wedding ring.

There were a few swears that followed but it came right off after an hour long soak in the jewelry cleaner.

Moral of the story. Don’t wear your wedding ring to a marbling party.

Now, I don’t mean to over sell tomorrow’s project but I am being completely honest when I say that it is my favorite project that I have done in a year. #anticipation #anti-ci-p-a-a-a-tion

The post Spray Paint Marbled Planters appeared first on Vintage Revivals.