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Ferns belong to the oldest representatives of the plant world, they survived dinosaurs, witnessed human evolution, and today they are successfully growing not only in nature but also indoors. Attention to the plant from the side of flower growers is explained by the beauty of the figurally rugged leaves and the fact that taking care of a room fern at home is completely uncomplicated.
There are about 10 thousand species of ferns all over the planet today, but there are fewer species in the collections of indoor plants. The most unpretentious and at the same time ornamental plants fall on the window sills. Among them davaliya, aslenium, pteris, nephrolepis and other species from different parts of the world.
The structure of ferns
Occupying an intermediate position between mosses, algae and gymnosperm species of plants, ferns have retained the features of the most ancient representatives of the flora and at the same time successfully adapted to life in conditions that have changed over millions of years.
This feature becomes apparent when considering the structure of a fern. The leaves, or more correctly, the fronds make up the aboveground part of the plants and, as a rule, are distinguished by a figured, pinnate, or repeatedly dissected form. Young, not yet opened leaf plates at ferns tightly coiled into a spiral.
As they grow, they unwind, become darker and denser. Under a layer of soil rhizomes of ferns are located.
How to care for ferns at home?
When taking care of indoor ferns at home, they are trying to create a microclimate that is as close to natural as possible. This fully applies to:
- air temperature at different times of the year;
- environmental humidity;
- lighting;
- frequency and volume of irrigation;
- applying feedings;
- transplant.
Most indoor indoor ferns, as pictured, come from the tropics or subtropical regions of the planet. But there are also indigenous inhabitants of the temperate zones. To adapt to the requests of plants, all ferns are protected from drafts and sudden changes in temperature, and also protected from the scorching sun.
Depending on the cultivated species, trying to maintain an acceptable temperature. In summer, the plants withstand heating to 28–30 ° C, but subject to other conditions of care and increased attention from the owner.
How to care for a fern if this maximum is exceeded? The plant will need not only the usual protection from direct sunlight, but also frequent irrigation on particularly hot days. It will help fill the entire free volume of the pot with wet sphagnum or place the flower in a wet florarium. A useful solution would be the relocation of the fern for the entire warm period under the open sky.
But with the onset of autumn, even before the first frosts, the florist will have to find a cool place for the green pet under the roof. Some species are content with the content at normal room temperature not lower than 17 ° C.But there are those who are more comfortable to be at 14–16 ° C.The minimum allowable temperature of the content - +10 ° C, if the air is colder, it threatens to overcool the rhizomes, which is especially dangerous in wet soil.
At home, taking care of indoor ferns will be greatly simplified if you put the pot on the east or west window. Here, the plants are not threatened with sunburn, and the incoming light is enough to actively grow and maintain decorativeness.
Do not forget that all members of the family react negatively to air pollution, smoke, car exhaust. Therefore, not the best place for a flower is a smoker's room or a balcony overlooking a noisy street with heavy traffic.
The frequency and intensity of irrigation varies with the season. When a room fern, as in the photo, is actively growing, it is watered more often, a decrease in growth rates signals the need to moisturize the soil less often.
For ferns, excessive and poor watering is harmful. The first case threatens with compaction and acidification of the soil, a decrease in the intensity of respiration and plant nutrition. Although the roots do not die, the flower quickly turns into a depressed, weakened state.
Dryness of the substrate leads to the death of the leaves. You should not expect that those who lost the turgor and the bright color of the frond come to life after the resumption of watering. Even with the resumption of proper care, they die off, which adversely affects the appearance of the flower.
How to care for a fern at home that has lost the entire aboveground part? It is possible to reanimate a plant affected by drought, knowing the subtleties of the fern development cycle. The plants are removed and already dead, and still remaining green fronds, after which the pot is transferred to a well-lit window sill. With regular, but not too abundant watering, the fern will be able to quickly recover. A sign of awakening will be taut green spirals of new foliage that appear above the substrate.
Effectively help to support plants complex fertilizing with the inclusion of organics and minerals. They are carried out on a regular basis from mid-spring until autumn.
Transplanting Room Fern
The best time to transplant indoor fern is spring. Depending on the type of home plant, the procedure may have its own characteristics.
Since there are not only terrestrial plants among ferns, but also epiphytes, it will be necessary to prepare for this stage of care for indoor ferns in the home. To do this, select:
- suitable for the size of a pot, basket or piece of wood for epiphytic varieties;
- satisfying culture needs a loose, necessarily lightweight substrate.
Although the stores offer ready-made mixes, for most home-grown plants, it is better to additionally ask about the needs of your pet. For example, for epiphytes, it is preferable to add large fragments of fallen wood, steamed bark, moss to the soil, and people from the tropics require the inclusion of more nutrients into the soil.
Reproduction of ferns
Everyone knows the folk tales of the fern flower that brings wealth and good fortune. One cannot find an unprecedented miracle only during one, the shortest night of the year, when the fern blooms. And although the heroes of fairy tales managed to get a magic flower, in reality, no one was destined to repeat their feat!
Because of its structure, ferns do not bloom. But how does the fern reproduce? The fact is that ferns have retained one of the most ancient ways to produce offspring using spores.
At home, it is rarely used because of its laboriousness and long waiting time when tiny plant rudiments are planted and matured. But multiplication by spores cannot be replaced if it is a question of growing especially rare species.
Reproduction of ferns by spores begins with the formation of sporangia on fayas containing haploid spores. Ripening, they are scattered on the nearby areas of soil, spread by wind and animals, and, falling into a favorable environment, germinate. After fertilization, the life of a new fern begins, but it can take up to several years to form a self-feeding plant, depending on the species.
In the indoor environment they divide adults. It is best to undertake a rather unpleasant procedure for the plant in the spring, combining it with a transplant in fresh soil.
The fern is divided into separate sockets so that each one has:
- several leaves;
- has its own growth point;
- sufficient for growth area of rhizome.
Fern breeding methods are many. Individual varieties are easily propagated by dividing underground shoots. Others give a gain on a peculiar mustache. And the third ferns, in order to accelerate the growth and provide their offspring with a greater chance of survival, became viviparous. They form child outlets right on the fights. When the embryos grow enough to lead their own lives, they fall off and take root.
