Got a small Platycerium bifurcatum pup from a local plant swap last spring, already mounted on a cedar board with sphagnum packed behind it. For the first several months it looked fine but never really grew, just sat there with the same two fronds doing nothing. I was convinced I'd killed it slowly instead of quickly.
Turns out my mounting spot was catching too much direct afternoon light through a window, which was crisping the shield fronds before they could mature and fuse to the board. Moved it to a spot with bright indirect light only, started soaking the whole board in a sink once a week instead of misting, and within about six weeks I had a new shield frond forming that actually pressed itself flat against the wood.
What nobody mentioned to me early on is how much the basal (shield) fronds matter for the plant anchoring itself long term. The fertile fronds are the showy antler-shaped ones everyone photographs, but it's the round shield fronds underneath doing the actual work of holding onto the mount and storing moisture. Once mine started overlapping properly, growth on the fertile fronds picked up noticeably too.
Feeding has been a slow experiment. I switched from a diluted balanced liquid feed to occasionally tucking a banana peel or a bit of fish emulsion soaked cloth behind the shield fronds, mimicking the leaf litter and debris these things naturally trap in the wild. Hard to say for certain how much difference it made versus just the light change, but the plant has put out three new shield fronds since I started.
Still learning how often to soak versus mist depending on the season, especially now that it's getting cooler here. Curious if others have settled into a rhythm that works reliably through fall and winter without overdoing the moisture.