Top Tip | Epiphytes – Gardening Australia

SERIES 36 | Episode 22

When looking for space to fit in more plants, don’t forget the options offered by existing trees in your garden. 

Epiphytes are plants that grow on other plants, and these take advantage of the shade the tree provides, while living on rainwater and taking nutrients from falling leaves and other plant or animal waste.

Rock orchids will grow as epiphytes as well as being lithophytes (plants that grow on rocks) but they need good levels sunlight to flower, so do best when growing on deciduous trees that lose their leaves in winter, allowing in more light just when the orchids need it. 

Ferns such as staghorns and elkhorns are also epiphytes. 

Jerry has found a 70-year-old jacaranda that is host to several epiphytes, but a smaller tree could be used in a home garden, such as a frangipani. 

Featured Plant STAGHORN FERNPlatycerium superbum SERIES 36 | Episode 22

When looking for space to fit in more plants, don’t forget the options offered by existing trees in your garden. 

Epiphytes are plants that grow on other plants, and these take advantage of the shade the tree provides, while living on rainwater and taking nutrients from falling leaves and other plant or animal waste.

Rock orchids will grow as epiphytes as well as being lithophytes (plants that grow on rocks) but they need good levels sunlight to flower, so do best when growing on deciduous trees that lose their leaves in winter, allowing in more light just when the orchids need it.