A corner of Africa, the tropical forests of the Amazon or mysterious Asia - close by, on your windowsill, in a winter garden or bedroom.
It is quite possible if a fern settles in the house.
Surprisingly diverse, striking with an abundance of greenery and delicate emerald shades of ferns of the genus Asplenium Kostentsov family.
Among the titles are mentioned and Appleniye, and Kostenets.
In nature, there are up to seven hundred widows of these ferns, but they grow mainly in tropical forests, where wet, hot weather allows lush greenery to grow.
It is there that unique natural areas are still preserved, where ecosystems exist almost in their original form.
Fern - the oldest plants of the earth, stones with leaves patterns (fronts) imprinted on them are most often found by paleontologists. And this amazing plant can live in your house, decorate an alpine slide or gazebo, because ferns also unpretentious They live on rocky slopes, in shady corners, leaves can reach a length of 60-80 centimeters.
Kinds
There are many types of aspleenium, each is interesting in its own way, but not all are suitable for indoor floriculture.
Asplenium - epiphytic plant, in nature, the ferns of this family feel great on the trunks of mighty trees, thanks to which they can "get" to sunlight.
They can long endure lack of moisture accumulating beneficial substances.
Young plants are carefully covered with dead leaves, which at the same time feed the plants, they receive a part of mineral substances from the bark of trees.
Viviparous
The arcuate leaves of this terrestrial fern assembled into a power outlet light green, twice or four times dissected and curved, they are longer than half a meter in width, up to 40 centimeters triangular.
The buds located on the upper part of the leaf are called broods, because when ripe, they fall and easily take root on moist soil, because their roots are almost formed.
Photo subspecies Asplenium Life-Giving:
South Asian
Known for its large leaves which reach one and a half meters and assembled into a rosette, shaped like a funnel.
In South Asian asplenium, they are almost always solid, oblong, but they also come with an incorrectly carved pattern. The rhizome is very thick, with a lot of adventitious roots, literally entangling it.
Photos of the Asplenium South Asia subspecies:
Nesting
Especially well-known flower growers. Unpretentious, fast-growing, the length of the leaves with good care reaches 1 meter and with age and breadth this asplenium grows remarkably: more and more new leaves are constantly growing from the center.
But you can not touch the fronds, they are too gentle, as in all types of Kostenza.
Aspenium nesting prefers shady wet places. And in a growing socket that resembles a nest, in natural conditions moisture, leaves and a blade of grass accumulates, dead insects, the fern feeds on nutrients.
Photo subspecies Asplenium Gnezdovidny:
Lukovitsenosny
Famous because not afraid of frost. Of course, the temperature below zero will not transfer to him, but he will survive the cooling. Medium size deciduous fern grows well in areas with moderately warm air.
Photo subspecies Asplenium Lukovitsenosny:
Bandworm
Sometimes called skolopendrovym leaflet, deer horn, deer tongue. It looks like a nesting fern, leaves - belts grow strongly upwards, and then begin to bend in an arc. Edges wai wavy, very beautiful, look unusual. For cool rooms - the perfect plant.
Photo subspecies Asplenium Scholopendry:
Osaka (antikum)
Very peculiar. Osaka doesn't like when water gets into his outlet and reacts to this by yellowing wai and their withering away. Osaka leaves grow to a meter, are pinnate, wavy edges.
Photos of the Asplenium Osaka subspecies:
Nidus
So called a variety of nesting fern, the leaves of which are more decorative, very tender and fragile but reach a maximum length of 60 centimeters.
Photos of the Asplenium Nidus subspecies:
Home care
Features care after purchase
Ferns asplenium after purchase certainly relocated to another container. Their do not transplant, and roll over, trying to slightly free the tips of the roots, but leave the main earthy lump on the plant. Mix the leaf ground, pine bark, humus and coconut substrate.
Pour drainage into the pot (not too wide), then mix, trying to grow the fern in a well-filled area.
But Kostenets does not like a large volume of containers. Roots must breathe well.
Lighting
Do not like direct sunlight, heat. Shade a plant or grow a fern in rooms that are not located on the sunny side.
Temperature
Asplenium grows well and develops at a temperature of 16 to 27 degrees. It develops well at 21 degrees, in winter it is better to give it a rest, reducing the temperature to 18 degrees.
Humidity
These ferns need high humidity: 50- 60 percent. Dry air can cause leaf death. There should be no heaters near the flower pot.
Watering
Moisture-loving asleniums watered very carefully.
The ground in the pot should be wet, but not rot, the water poured into the pan will help to avoid drying out.
In winter, the plant is watered very plentifully, but 1 - 2 times a week.
Transfer
Aspleniums are transplanted no more than once every two years, when the root system has completely mastered the space of the container.
Top dressing
In spring and autumn it is good to water the fern. concentrated fertilizers intended for indoor plants, but carefully observe the dosage - tiller needs far less than many of the flowers. The closest fern is Kostenets to the same epiphytes, orchids, and it must also be fed carefully.
Pruning
Pruned only old or damaged leaves. If a piece of leaf is damaged, carefully cut and spray the plant with water every day, this helps keep the fronds clean.
Breeding
How does the plant Asplenium reproduce? This happens in several ways:
Disputes
After cutting off the leaf with spores (they develop on the underside of the leaf), carefully collect the spores on a clean white sheet. In the hotbed, where drainage and soil with peat are covered, plant the seeds, cover it with glass and place it in a warm dark place.
Periodically air out the hotbed, water, and in 2 - 3 months you will see young sprouts. Now you can thin out the seeding, leaving only strong shoots. Fern is planted in individual pots only toga when it develops well.
The kidneys
The easiest way to propagate viviparous fern.
Hillocks are formed on the leaves, in which the brood bud begins to develop. From it develops a plant with leaves and petioles - roots.
By digging a piece of frond with such tiny sprouts into the loose earth, you can grow a new fern.
And you can just wait until the brood bud falls off and takes root.
The plant is carefully dug and planted in a new pot.
Rhizome division
Having examined the root when transplanting, mark all points of growth. If there are not many of them, then it is not necessary to divide the asplenium so as not to destroy.
And if there are enough of them, then you will see how quickly the young fern begins to grow.
Among the errors that should be avoided, in addition to lighting and humidity, it is worth considering that the plant does not like drafts, hard or chlorinated water, too low temperature. All these factors can lead to the death of asplenium.
Diseases and pests
To dry the fern can cause gray rot, bacterioses, and prevention is the restriction of watering.
Improper use of fertilizers can cause spotting - ferns love low acidity, remember this.
If brown spots appear on the aspleenium, it can be a nematode, from which it is very difficult to cure the fern. In this case, the plant will just have to throw it away.
Conclusion
Planting ferns is not easy. But deciding on this, you can hardly stop: so much wonder lurks in these wonderful plants. And soon, probably, you will want to become the owner of a small fern garden on your windowsill.
Other indoor ferns include: Pelley, Pteris, Cirtomium, Nephrolepis, Adiantum, Davallia, Blehnum, Salvinia, Polypodium, Platicerium, Uzzhnik and Grozdnik.
