Subtleties of nephrolepis care

The primal beauty of ferns mesmerizes and awakens ancient instincts. Many varieties can be grown in an indoor garden, but nephrolepis, which is extremely simple to care for, confidently leads the list of preferences of their owners. He is patient and hardy, it is not difficult to create comfortable conditions for him, and his spectacular dense crown formed by openwork leaves will be the best gratitude of the flower for the care and time spent.

Home breeding varieties

Nephrolepis exaltata is most popular in indoor gardens. Its wild species are typical of the tropics of Southeast Asia. The rhizome of this fern is tall and vertical. There is a rosette on it, which is formed by long (up to 70 cm) pinnate leaves. They are light green and attached to short petioles.

The main advantage of the plant is the ability to easily tolerate fluctuations in air humidity in the room. On its basis, many favorite varieties of nephrolepis were bred by flower growers:

• Roosevelt - a large flower whose fronds (broad feathery leaves) have wavy segments;
• Scott - a compact plant, the segments of which curl around the edges;
• Green lady - proceeding from the high rhizome, its frond forms a lush green spherical fountain, the leaves of this fern are carved, wavy, pointed to the top;
• Emina - has curly leaves, the edge of which is cut with teeth, frond is almost erect, the flower itself is compact and undersized;
• Boston - upright fern, frond of which reaches 1.2 m in length. The segments on them are twisted or wavy - it depends on the variety.

Hearty nephrolepis is also suitable for home. Its distinctive features are the presence of tuberous swellings covering the underground shoots, and an almost vertical direction of growth of fronds. The segments on them are more dense, sometimes tiled. Their shape is round. The fronds of this plant are often used to create complex flower arrangements.

Xiphoid nephrolepis, which came into culture from Central America, can only be grown at home by owners of spacious apartments. The length of its leaves reaches 2.5 m. This is a very spectacular flower, the best place for which is a greenhouse.

Lighting and temperature

Nephrolepis is shade-tolerant, but placing a pot with it in the far corner of the room, where the sun's rays practically do not reach, would be a mistake. Keeping in such conditions threatens the flower with a decrease in decorativeness and even death. Fern needs a lot of light, but it should be diffused. The best option would be to place it at a distance of 1 m from the window (on the floor, stand or shelf), hiding it from direct sunlight.

Nephrolepis can also be grown on a windowsill if it is oriented to the north, west or east. On the south side, the flower will need shading. If you don't take care of protection from the bright sun, its leaves will begin to turn yellow and dry, the growth of the fern will slow down, and in appearance it will become stunted and painful. The purchase of roller blinds or the installation of a light screen between nephrolepis and glass will help to avoid unpleasant consequences.

At home, the plant will show itself in all its glory only with a long (14-16 hours) daylight hours. In winter, it will have to be extended artificially, especially if the pot is located on the north side. Nephrolepis has no special requirements for the quality of light. He feels comfortable under ordinary fluorescent lamps.This allows you to successfully grow a flower in office-type rooms, halls, hallways and even bathrooms.

Advice

From spring to autumn, the fern pot can be kept outdoors: on the balcony, loggia, veranda or in the garden. Place it in partial shade, taking care of protecting the plant from rain.

Nephrolepis does not like heat. In the spring-autumn period at home it is better to keep it at a temperature of 20-24 ° C. If the room is hotter, frequent spraying of the leaves will help the fern painlessly endure adverse conditions. During the rest period, the temperature is lowered to 15 ° C, and the pot is rearranged away from batteries and heaters. Nephrolepis can overwinter without changing the conditions of detention. In this case, it continues to be watered and sprayed as usual.

Watering and humidity

The comfort and health of the fern at home is determined by the humidity of the air. It should be tall. In dry air, the plant weakens, loses its decorative effect and becomes vulnerable to diseases and pests. Spraying helps to create a microclimate suitable for nephrolepis. In the hot season, they are repeated at least 2-3 times a day. If it is not possible to include them in flower care, containers filled with water or wet moss are placed next to the pot. It is especially important to increase air humidity in winter.

On hot days, indoor nephrolepis is often watered abundantly. They begin to moisten the next, waiting for the top layer of the earth in the pot to dry slightly. In winter, the frequency of watering is determined by the room temperature. If the plant is kept cool, moisten it moderately, starting the procedure when the substrate dries out well on top.

Prolonged drought is fatal for nephrolepis. But he does not tolerate waterlogged soil either. If the roots of the plant rot, it will not be possible to save it. For irrigation, take soft water. You can defend it, but it is better to use thawed or rainwater. Watering the flower with cold water is contraindicated. Its temperature should be room temperature or a couple of degrees warmer than room temperature.

Advice

Nephrolepis responds well to warm showers. Often such care is not worth it, but even 1 procedure per month will have a beneficial effect on the condition of the plant.

Many types of nephrolepis have a superficial root system, which forms a dense structure in the soil. Because of this feature, it is better to water the indoor fern through the pallet. This reduces the risk of drying out and acidification of the soil. To retain moisture in the soil, its surface is mulched. Dry moss or small expanded clay is well suited for this. It is impossible to allow stagnation of water in the pan. In winter, the consequences can be catastrophic. If it was not possible to avoid soil acidification, a flower is transplanted into a fresh substrate.

Top dressing and replacing the pot

Indoor nephrolepis is quite gluttonous, therefore, proper care for it involves frequent feeding. Complex compositions for decorative deciduous crops are suitable for the flower. It is good if they contain a lot of potassium. But their dosage is made four times weaker than that recommended by the manufacturer. Can be used to feed nephrolepis and organic fertilizers (mullein infusion).

During the period of intensive growth (from early spring to September), the fern is fed with a frequency of 1-1.5 weeks. If the flower hibernates in cool conditions, it is pointless and even harmful to add nutrients at this time. If nephrolepis does not have a rest period, feeding is continued, but the interval between them is increased to 1 month.

While the plant is young, it needs an annual transplant. They spend it in the spring. For adult nephrolepis (from 3 years old), the pot is changed every 2-3 years. It is better to use a plastic container. Ceramics retain moisture less well. The flower pot needs a wide, but shallow one. A thick expanded clay drainage layer is placed on its bottom, and a substrate is poured on top.Indoor fern prefers light, loose soil with an acid reaction. It is better to buy it in the store. In addition to a special substrate for ferns, the soil for camellias, calla lilies and hydrangeas is suitable for nephrolepis.

You can prepare the soil for the flower yourself. To do this, at home, three components are mixed in equal volumes:

• high-moor peat;
• greenhouse land;
• coniferous land.

As a fertilizer, bone meal is added to the resulting substrate (5 g of substance per 1 kg of soil). A good solution would be to add pieces of sphagnum and charcoal to it. These components will improve the structure of the soil, protect the flower from pathogenic bacteria, and reduce the risk of decay of its roots.

If the transplant is carried out for planned purposes, nephrolepis is carefully removed from the old pot and, without disturbing the soil coma, is transferred into a new container. After filling the voids with fresh substrate and lightly tamping it, the fern is watered. Its root collar is not buried; it should be above the soil surface.

The transplant is stressful for the plant, therefore, after it, it is necessary to provide the nephrolepis with the most comfortable conditions: make sure that the soil remains constantly wet and often spray the flower. If the procedure is an emergency measure to save the fern from soil pests, disease or overflow, the transfer method will not work. The roots of the plant will have to be cleaned of the ground, inspected, if necessary, cut off the decayed areas and treat the wounds with crushed coal.

Reproduction

Nephrolepis is propagated vegetatively using fragments of the mother plant:

• shoots;
• offspring;
• parts of the rhizome.

The best time to divide the bush is spring, when a fern transplant is planned. The chances that such reproduction will be successful will be higher if the flower is adult and powerful, and it has several growth points. Their number determines the number of divisions.

Parts of the bush are rooted in separate plastic pots, watering abundantly after planting. Caring for the parcels involves maintaining high humidity and temperatures within 15-18 ° C. You need to understand that such reproduction will not bring a quick result. Delenki will start growing when they form a powerful root system.

To get the offspring of nephrolepis, his mustache is bent to a container filled with light moist soil and deepened into it by 5-8 mm. The upper part of the shoot should remain above the soil surface. The state of the substrate is closely monitored, not allowing it to dry out. It usually takes 10-15 days for offspring to root. When new shoots are formed on them, they are carefully separated from the adult fern and planted in a separate pot.

Some varieties of nephrolepis can be propagated by spores. But this method is fraught with many difficulties, therefore, it is hardly applicable at home. In addition, the properties of the mother plant are not inherited by ferns derived from spores.

Difficulties with growing nephrolepis

Most often, when growing nephrolepis, flower growers are embarrassed by the yellowing of its spectacular leaves, after which they dry and fall off. There are various reasons for this reaction in a fern. To understand what the problem is, you need to carefully examine it. Nephrolepis is characterized by getting rid of old, obsolete leaves. Young people grow up to replace them. If this is a natural process, the decorative effect of the crown does not decrease: it does not thin out, does not lose its elasticity, and the fern looks healthy. Dried fronds must be carefully removed, and the soil under the flower must be cleaned.

It's another matter if the leaves of the plant dry up and fly around due to improper care:

• drying out of the soil;
• waterlogging, which provoked rotting of the roots;
• excess or lack of light;
• drafts.

Urgent measures are needed here, otherwise the flower may die. Fern leaf tips dry out when kept in too dry air.It is recommended to spray such a flower more often or put it on a pallet full of wet expanded clay, moss or sand. You can use special electrical appliances to humidify the air.

Dark dry spots on the leaves of nephrolepis are a signal to remove the pot from the bright sun. Abundant watering and frequent spraying will help the plant recover faster. Fern leaves change color to brown, curl and crumble if the flower stands in a draft or freezes. Nephrolepis also reacts to watering if cold, hard or chlorine-containing water is used for it.

The following factors slow down the growth of the fern:

• cramped pot;
• lack of nutrients;
• low temperature.

With the elimination of the cause, the problem will be solved by itself. After examining the flower and analyzing the conditions of its maintenance, they resort to transplanting, normalizing the feeding regime or raising the temperature.

Of the pests, indoor nephrolepis can affect:

• whitefly;
• aphid;
• scabbards;
• spider mite.

They fight them by treating the flower with soapy water or special preparations with an insecticidal effect (Fitoverm, Aktara, Aktellik). But we must remember that pests are attracted by weakened plants. Therefore, their appearance is a reason to think about how correct fern care is.

Many problems with nephrolepis will be relieved by disinfection or sterilization of the soil before transplanting it. Untreated soil may contain causative agents of dangerous diseases, pathogenic fungi, mealybugs, thrips, nematodes, larvae of other pests. Destroy them by spilling the earth with a solution of insecticides and fungicides.

Nephrolepis is ideal for home cultivation. It is beautiful and unpretentious, and its graceful carved leaves enliven any interior, filling the room with forest freshness and harmony. It is worth getting this fern because of its beneficial properties. It absorbs negative energy and harmful electromagnetic radiation, improves immunity, clarifies thoughts, energizes and tune in a positive mood. Its leaves are natural cleaners that purify the air from vapors, germs and dust.

A pot of nephrolepis can be placed or hung in front of a TV or computer, in the kitchen and in the bedroom, but the best place for it would be a study or a school student's corner. Here he will show himself as fully as possible, increasing perseverance and endowing the owner with prudence and perseverance.