Asplenium is a beautiful epiphytic fern. It lives in the tropics of Africa and Latin America, as well as in the subtropical forests of Europe and Asia. The genus of plants belongs to the Asplenievye or Kostenetsovye family, therefore fern is often called the “bone”. Its graceful broad leaves resemble a lush green fountain. If you settle the asplenium at home, there will be a persistent feeling of the proximity of the tropical jungle. The green cascade is developing rapidly and pleases with a riot of bright colors. The genus is very diverse, which allows you to choose the most interesting plant. It can be a fern with wide whole or carved leaves.
Botanical characteristics
The genus of asplenium is very large and has up to 500 varieties. It includes deciduous and evergreen perennials. In the natural environment, they settle on other trees, in crevices of rocks and even on brickwork. Some specimens have a developed stem rhizome suitable for land cultivation. Epiphytic forms are distinguished by finer roots, which serve to fix the fern on the donor plant. The roots are covered with soft brown scales. The annual growth of asplenium is small. The adult plant is 30-70 cm tall and wide. In a natural environment, the height of a shoot can reach two meters.
Long leaves are painted bright green. They can have a solid or cirrus-dissected leaf plate. The surface of the sheet is smooth, shiny. The dense petiole at the base is painted in a dark green or brownish-purple hue. On the back of the sheet are sporangia. They are short transverse strokes located on both sides of the central vein.
Types of Asplenium
In all its diversity, the numerous genus of asplenium can only be found in the natural environment. In culture, only a few dozen varieties are used. Domestic flower growers have chosen some of them.
Asplenium nesting ("nidus"). The epiphytic fern settles on the branches of large tropical trees. Thick scaly roots nourish a beautiful bright green shoot. Whole leathery leaves are collected in a thick, nest-like rosette. It is for this variety that got its name. The base of the central vein is dark brown.
Asplenium skolopendrovy ("deer tongue"). The plant has whole, upright leaves of a light green color. Their shiny surface is very dense. The central vein is painted in a darker shade of green. The variety became the basis for the cultivation of hybrid varieties. They have a solid sheet plate with a pronounced wavy or curly edge.
Asplenium Osaka. The variety is distinguished by large light green leaves. The whole leaf plate reaches a length of 1 m and a width of 20 cm. In culture, this type of fern is rare.
Asplenium bulbous. Rhizome fern grows on rocks and under trees. It is resistant to cold snap up to frost and drops leaves in the cold period. The plant has heavily dissected drooping leaves on an erect, stiff petiole. The length of the vaya is 40-60 cm, and its width is 20-30 cm. On the leaves, buds are formed, similar to small onions. Of these, children develop. As they grow, they separate and fall into the ground. Upon contact with the soil, a rhizome begins to develop.
Asplenium viviparous. Ground evergreen perennial with short, pinnate leaves. Their length does not exceed 60 cm and a width of 20 cm. Narrow linear segments resemble needles. Sporangia are located on the edges on the back of the leaves. At the top of the waya, buds develop, from which the children grow.
Breeding rules
Asplenium can be propagated by sowing spores, dividing the root, or rooting children.
To propagate the ossicles with spores, it is necessary to select a mature sheet and peel the spores from it onto a sheet of paper. Crops are produced in spring in calcined peat soil. Spores are distributed on the surface of the soil and put in a dark place. The optimum temperature for germination is + 22 ° C. The container is covered with film or glass to maintain optimal humidity. Shoots resembling moss appear within 1-2 months. Seedlings are transferred to a shaded room and remove the shelter. The grown plants are thinned, leaving a distance of about 3 cm. After another month, young aspleniums are transplanted in separate pots. It is allowed to plant 2-3 young plants in one pot.
Strongly overgrown fern can be divided into several parts. In March-April, during a transplant, the plant is partially exempted from an earthy coma. The root is cut vertically into 2-4 parts. Each dividend is immediately planted in moist, loose soil. Within a month, the fern needs more careful care. It is protected from direct sunlight, often watered and sprayed. In the same period, there is a need for foliar top dressing.
If a variety of asplenium forms children, they can be rooted. Brood buds develop quickly enough and fall off on their own. You need to push a young plant into a light fertile soil and it will take root quickly. During the first weeks, it is recommended that children be kept under a film or a glass jar. The emergence of new leaves indicates successful rooting. Now you can take care of the baby as well as an adult fern.
Transplant Features
Asplenium is recommended to be replanted every 1-2 years with the replacement of part of the earth. Capacity for fern take the same size or slightly larger. The rhizome of a plant develops slowly, so there is no need for a spacious pot. Since most plants are epiphytes, you can take land for orchids. With independent compilation of the soil mixture, the following components are used:
- sheet land (3 parts);
- peat (2 parts);
- deciduous humus (1 part);
- sand (1 part);
- charcoal (1 part);
- sphagnum moss (1 part).
When transplanting, it is recommended to clean old land. The roots carefully inspect and cut off the areas damaged by rot.
Plant care
Caring for asplenium is not too complicated, but following a number of rules will allow you to get a luxurious plant.
Lighting. Asplenium prefers well-shaded rooms. It should be placed at a distance of 3 m from the window or on the northern windowsills. Direct sunlight on the wai is contraindicated.
Temperature. Most species of asplenium prefer warm content. The optimum air temperature throughout the year is + 20 ... + 25 ° C. If the room is colder + 18 ° C, the plant stops growing and can drop leaves. When choosing a place for the bones, you need to consider that he is afraid of drafts.
Humidity. Asplenium needs high humidity. It must be periodically sprayed and bathed under a warm shower. In winter, they don’t bathe the plant, but they wipe the dust leaves with a damp cloth. It is not recommended to place the fern near heating radiators. In rooms with dry air, trays with water or wet expanded clay are additionally placed.
Watering. When choosing a watering regime, it is necessary to focus on the state of the soil. Its surface should always be slightly moist, but stagnation of water is unacceptable. It is recommended that every 1-2 days a small amount of warm, well-cleaned and settled water be poured into the ground. In summer, watering is done more often, and in winter it is slightly reduced.
Fertilizer. In April-September, the asplenium actively grows and forms young shoots, so it needs additional nutrition. Twice a month, a solution of mineral fertilizer for ferns is applied under the root. Also, part of the drug is sprayed on the foliage.
Pruning. Fern does not need crown formation. Its slender waiy form a beautiful symmetrical outlet without outside interference. Drying and old leaves are pruned as needed.
Possible difficulties
If the irrigation regime is violated, asplenium forms gray or root rot, and bacterial infections can also develop. In case of detection of foci of the disease on the leaves or shoots, the sick wai should be cut and the soil treated with fungicides.
Of the parasites on the asplenium, only nematodes settle. However, pest control is extremely difficult. They penetrate under the skin of the sheet, which protects against insecticides. Only cardinal trimming and removal of all damaged areas helps. Sometimes it saves only the complete destruction of the fern.
If the tips of the leaves dry out, you should increase the air humidity and spray the crown more often. If the plant becomes pale and loses its color, this indicates a sunburn. It is recommended to rearrange the bone in the shade. Leaf spotting in a complex with twisted edges indicates that the room temperature is too low.
