In addition to flowering plants, there are also ornamental plants. They do not bloom at all or bloom not very beautifully, and are grown by people for the sake of their unusual decorative foliage. This group can include ferns - one of the oldest plants on Earth. Today it has more than 11 thousand species, but only a few use it in home floriculture and horticulture. Most often they are used for shaded areas. Among the popular species of this plant can be called adianum, nephrolepis , asplenium, platitseritum, pellei, pteris, etc.
Ferns are interesting in that they reproduce in nature with the help of spores, like horsetails and plaques. Disputes are seeds, only very small, which at the same time makes it difficult for people to reproduce artificially and makes them fascinating, even gambling: will or will not work? So, let's look at how this process happens.
The characteristic features of ferns are large long leaves, which grow very slowly. On the leaf plate, spores or seeds are formed to reproduce the fern.
Methods of reproduction of ferns
Artificial reproduction of ferns involves 2 ways:
- Propagation by spores . Disputes in these plants are in sporangia located on each sheet. Outwardly they resemble brown or brown dots. To learn in practice, as the ferns multiply, cut a leaf from the plant with traces of brown dust and place it in a plastic bag. It must be well shaken, so that the spores are separated from the leaf and crumbled to the bottom of the bag in the form of a brown powder. It is better to do this in several receptions, periodically shaking the package. Then the seeds need to be sown in the prepared substrate. As it is usually used a mixture of sand and peat, sometimes with the addition of leafy soil. In extreme cases, it is permitted to take a ready-made substrate for senpolia. The prepared mixture should be steamed for 4 hours to get rid of possible pests and weeds. Then a shallow container is filled with a damp ground about 3-4 cm thick and spores are distributed over its surface (they do not need to be sprinkled). The container is covered with glass to maintain a constant humidity. To germinate the spores of the fern, it is necessary to ensure a temperature in the region of + 25 ° C. First of the spores appear sprouts - small plant without roots. Unlike other asexual plants, they have male and female organs, where the sex cells are formed. Sprouts should be gently sprayed with a spray gun, because only with the presence of a wet film will fertilization take place.
- Vegetative type of reproduction . It is much simpler and applies to plants that have several growth points. Do it better in the fall, during the annual transplant, or in the spring, after the onset of active growth. To do this, divide the bush into several parts or disassemble into separate sockets. In this case, you need to pay attention to the number of points of growth (meristem) on the rhizomes. To the vegetative method also refers to the reproduction of processes and brood buds formed at the edges of leaves in some fern species (for example, in the asplenium). But nephrolepis can be multiplied
thanks to the thin climbing shoots, which spread along the ground, like a strawberry mustache. Separate such an escape and drop it into a small pot. Other types of nephrolepis have tubers, which are formed in large numbers on underground shoots. They can also be used for reproduction.
For those ferns that have only one growth point, multiplication using root division is used. The root system of the plant should be carefully cut with a sharp knife between the rosettes. Then each plant with a part of the root system is planted in the soil, well watered and sprayed. What to do this procedure is desirable in cool weather.