Growing plants in open-topped pots filled with a fibre-rich potting mix is a gardening tradition that dates back at least as far as classical times. The practice is so ubiquitous one might think pot culture is the only way to grow plants at home. However, for several tricky-to-grow species, simply ditching the pots and growing them via others means, which more closely replicate their native environments, will give you better results, both horticulturally and aesthetically.
Let’s start with the architectural fronds of staghorn ferns, Platycerium. These can be a real challenge to keep alive in pots because their shield fronds cover the entire surface of the compost and often even the pot itself, like a wrap of green cling film. How do you water a plant when you can’t get the spout near the compost? Even when watered via the immersion method (dunking the whole thing in a bucket) the plastic pot can seal in so much moisture the delicate roots then rot.
By replicating their natural habitat on the branches of rainforest trees this is made simpler. Take a shop-bought staghorn fern plant out of its pot and remove a third to half of the lower roots. Wrap the remaining root ball in wet moss (available in florists – or in my case, the roof of a mate’s garage) and tie it to a plank or branch of wood with fishing wire. This can then be hung on a wall for a striking room decoration. I now have four different species growing like this. To water, just dunk the whole thing in a bucket once a week for 10 minutes and leave to dry fully before hanging it back up. This treatment gives these forest-tree dwellers the moist, but sharply drained conditions they crave, but which are almost impossible to replicate in a pot.
An alternative way to mimic these conditions is with ferns and orchids grown on the pau de barro (literally “stick of clay”) method common in Brazil. Here a non-glazed (this bit is crucial) terracotta urn or jar is used. As the water seeps through the porous walls of the urn, it creates a constantly moist but well-drained surface, perfect for orchids, forest cacti and ferns. These are initially “planted” by strapping their bare roots to the moist surface with twine, but if kept happy these plants will soon send out colonising roots to envelop the whole surface. They look great strung up like a hanging basket or simply sitting in a waterproof saucer. To water, just keep the central reservoir of the jar topped up.
Finally, here’s a hybrid solution. I love nepenthes, the tropical pitcher plants. But giving them the high air humidity they need to keep their insect-eating traps can be tough in the average living room. However, if you have a fish tank, strapping the roots of a small specimen to a piece of aquarium driftwood that breaks the surface – as I showed with staghorn ferns – will give them all the ambient humidity they desire. The trick is to place the root ball close enough to the water surface so they become self-irrigating as they use up the tank water, but not so close that their traps dangle into the water itself. The younger a plant you start with and the larger the tree branch, the better to create a real statement look.
Email James at james.wong@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @Botanygeek
