RE: artificial trees

Hello Wim,

Asplenium nidus and Phlebodium aureum make beautiful indoor houseplants when grown in pots. Both of them will take quite low humidity so long as they are potted in a well-drained but rich, organic potting mix. I am surprised by the platycerium. Isn't growing most platyceriums indoors as houseplants somewhat like having an elephant for a pet?

An artificially heated residential building is highly artificial and in no way resembles the natural environment of the plants you are trying to grow. Trying to duplicate their natural environment by growing them as epiphytes on artificial trees seems like an extravagant waste of time and money.

Select beautiful pots that complement the asplenium and the phlebodium. Set the pots on attractive plant stands so that the foliage is close eye level. Water them regularly but let the pots become almost, but not quite, totally dry between waterings and very lightly fertilize them 2 or 3 times a year and, in 12-18 months, you will have magnificent specimen plants that are the envy of all your friends. Such a set-up will give you far more beautiful plants and you won't have to worry about your "low-noise dripping system" springing a leak and gushing a few gallons of water onto your floor at 1:00 AM.

Of course an indoor epiphytic "garden" seems so wonderfully strange and exotic but do try to make an effort to give up the thrill of the new and replace it with the thrill of the great. In this case, "the new" consists of plants struggling to grow epiphytically and "the great" consists of beautiful plants grown in pots.

Very kind regards,
Rufino
Southern Florida

From: "Winter, Wim de" <Wim.dewinter@wisl.nl>
Reply-To: ferns@hort.net
To: <ferns@hort.net>
Subject: RE: [ferns] artificial trees
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2003 12:48:00 +0200

Thanks all for your critical remarks on the tree-building. I understand the motar(concrete?)-with-peat concept is at least not widely known. What I still like about this idea is that it might but not necessarily must look natural. However, I've got several technical construction problems left to master.

The Chicago tree loogs great indeed, but I find it hard to thing of such a construct, be it of reduced size, in my living. The layered walls, pvc-skeleton, moss, cork, sounds like a good idea. In my office I now have a branch of a natiral tree planted with Asplenium nidus, Platycerium bifurcatum, and Phlebodium aureum. Thet are tied with a dot of sphagnum to the branch, but thet have a hard time for lack of available water. The staghorn has actually dried close to death now.

I suppose my heated indoor environment is a problem rather than supplying a foothold to the ferns or decorative issues. I wonder wether I could think of an internal or external low-noise dripping system.

I think I need to do some experiments. I will keep you informed but please be patient, the mind is faster than the hands (don't elaborate on that, Bob!).

regards,

Wim0 de Winter
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