Linger Longer: Platyceriums and Bonsais

Reply to: Mounting Platyceriums

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Charles Alford sells some really nice Platyceriums.  I've always been satisfied with the value to price ratio.  He only sells four times a year though.  You have to e-mail him to get on his list.  But he offers many neat epiphytic ferns that you can't get elsewhere.

Tom has a nice collection of Platyceriums...all outdoors year around here in Southern California.  Also good value to price ratio.

Growing Platyceriums from spore is pretty easy.  The hardest part is the waiting.

One thing that's pretty great about Platyceriums is that they make perfect baskets for all types of plants.  This can greatly increase the value to space ratio.  For example...

Dischidia
Begonias, Impatiens
Orchids (Oncidium, Zygopetalum)
Rhipsalis
Vireya

Bifurcatums are fairly common here in Southern California...so if somebody shows me one it's like showing me an empty basket.  I have the same perspective with bonsais.  A nice bonsai will have a pretty decent value to space ratio...but it's still a tree without anything growing on it.  It's a blank canvas.

Hopefully in the future every Platycerium will have at least one plant growing in it and every bonsai will have at least one epiphyte growing on it.

Imagine if Frank attends a bonsai show or a fern show.  Let's say that he has a budding general interest in plants.  What's the average amount of time he spends looking at each entry?  Two seconds?  I'm pretty sure if each bonsai and Platycerium had one companion plant...then the total amount of time he spent looking at the exhibits would increase.  How much would the total time increase if each entry had two companion plants?

Depending on the preferences of the exhibitors...the companion plants could stand out and instantly grab your attention...or they could be more like Easter Eggs (media).

When I first moved into my house...my plant friends would walk right past my Cedar tree.  As I started attaching more and more plants to it...visitors would linger longer and longer.  I refer to this as the Man Man Zou standard.  It's Chinese for "walk slow"...or "walk carefully".  As in you'll want to take your time so that you don't miss any delightful details.