Many tropical plants are easy to grow at home and live a long time. Exotic-plant expert Jerry Fischer offers some tips to help you grow them successfully. Staghorn fern (Platycerium) is native to tropical regions, where it grows on trees. Home gardeners sometimes grow staghorns on slabs of bark, in hanging baskets or on a board covered with sphagnum moss. The best growing medium is peat moss or sphagnum moss. These ferns have two kinds of fronds: The sterile fronds resemble shields and are a flat, pale green that ages to tan or brown. These support the plant and collect falling organic matter. The plant's fertile fronds are gray and forked and resemble deer antlers. Staghorn ferns require bright light in a partly shaded, sheltered spot, and are best grown in an east-facing window. They require moderate amounts of water and occasional fertilizing with fish emulsion. Pitcher plants (Nepenthes) are carnivorous, trapping insects in their pitchers, and evolved in poor soils. Hungry insects are lured into the cup by the plant's nectar. The plant digests the insect, feeding on its nutrients. Pitcher plants grow well in sphagnum moss in an east-facing window. After a few years, they can grow very large and develop many pitchers. Pineapples are part of the bromeliad family and require full sun and ample water. They prefer a fast-draining soil rich in organic matter. Water only when the soil is dry, and feed every three to four weeks with a liquid fertilizer. It takes two years for a pineapple to produce fruit. You can start your own easily from the top of a pineapple fruit. Remove the top, peel off the bottom leaves, allow the top to dry overnight, then pot in a rich potting soil. Humidity and heat are the keys to success with tillandsia, a bromeliad. Always let the potting medium dry out between waterings. Bright-green varieties need filtered light; those with gray foliage can take more sun and less water. Mist plants every one to three days to provide water, and add a half-strength fertilizer solution to the mist once a month. Malaysian rhododendrons are native to Borneo, New Guinea and Malaysia. They may be grown indoors in a bark mix and should be fertilized with a product designed for orchids. They require warm temperatures and should be allowed to dry out between waterings.
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