Fern - planting, care and flowering in the garden

Fern - planting, care and flowering in the garden

Ferns are the most ancient plants on earth. Now they look like they were millions of years ago. A lush bush with split leaves growing at the dacha is a reminder of prehistoric times, when fern plants dominated the entire planet.

Modern species have different sizes and shapes of leaves. But their appearance is so pronounced that everyone can confidently say that this plant is a fern.

The life cycle of the fern

Ferns do not form seeds. On the lower part of the leaves there are dark hillocks - spores grow in them. Once on the ground, spores grow into sprouts - tiny green formations of a heart-shaped shape ranging in size from a few millimeters to several centimeters.

For the development of the sprout and for the further passage of the life cycle, water is needed, so spores germinate only where there are droplets of moisture - in the forest litter, on the lower part of the tree trunks. The adolescent lives for several weeks. During this time, it forms male and female cells, which, when combined, form a gametophyte - a new plant.

Planting a fern

Garden ferns are planted in autumn and spring. Buying planting material in the market or in the store, you need to pay attention to the roots. Than they are thicker, the more chances that the plant will take root.

Choosing a seedling, you should give preference to those that are just beginning to untwist the leaves. Plants transplanted in the phase of complete dissolution of the leaves, take root worse.

The pit is digging so large that the roots can freely fit in it. Roots need not be shortened. On the contrary, they try to save as much as possible.

The leaves of the fern, properly called "wye", are very fragile. When planting it is better not to take the delenka for the leaves - they can easily break off.

Fern does not need fertile soils. On soils overloaded with humus, he feels uncomfortable. This forest inhabitant and his metabolism is designed for poor leaf land. When planting in a pit, it is better to make leaf land from the forest - it is more useful than humus or compost.

All ornamental-deciduous plants, including ferns, consume a lot of nitrogen, so a tablespoon of urea or nitroammofosci should be added to the bottom of the pit. The roots are straightened, covered with loose earth brought from the forest and watered abundantly.

If the plant wilted during the transportation to the dacha, its leaves need to be cut off, leaving 10 cm. To put the withered rosettes on and hope that after the abundant watering their leaves will rise, it is useless - they perished forever. Most likely, this year there will be no new leaves on the bush. But in the next a full-fledged dense outlet will be formed.

Garden ferns multiply rapidly, driving out "children" from the rhizomes, extending in all directions for several meters. Thus, the plant constantly captures all new territories. If the propagation is undesirable, it is necessary to dig up the sheets of the old slate vertically in the ground, just as they do to limit the raspberries.

Pressed heavy soil - not for the plant. In the wild they grow on a loose forest litter of foliage or needles. Organics constantly rot, forming a light airy substrate, most favorable for fern plants.

Clay soil must be drained:

1. Remove the top layer of soil to the depth of 2 bayonets of the shovel.
2. Pour down on the bottom of any construction debris - broken bricks, trimming boards, etc.
3. Fill the drain with loose soil, taken in the forest.

Care of the fern

In gardens, usually grown:

• The ostrich is big;
• a common-nurse or his varietal form with a pale-green foliage.

In the central part of Russia, many wild ferns brought from the Caucasus and the Far East have now been adapted. Buying a piece in the store, you must always ask where it came from.

The imported plants are not hardy. For the winter they will have to cover with a thick layer of leaves.

Providing a minimum protection against frost, you can collect in the garden a whole collection of various ferns.

Watering

All ferns are very fond of moisture. They need to be watered constantly. In the droughty period, the watering rate is increased so that the wai does not fade. Once withered leaf never restores its original appearance. He gradually withers and dies.

After watering you need to loosen to restore its air permeability. The roots are located close to the surface, so loosening is carried out not deeper than 2-3 cm.

Fertilizers

Ferns do not need large doses of fertilizers. Enough in the spring to water the bushes infusion of mullein or slightly sprinkled with humus. Mineral dressing is not required.

If you plant plants under the crown of old fruit trees, then they do not have to be fertilized at all. The trees will drop the leaves on the soil, fertilizing the planting and replenishing the fertility of the soil in a natural way.

Flowering of the fern

Flowering is shrouded in legends. Many have heard that if you see the blossoming fern in the night of Ivan Kupala, you can learn to find treasures and become an incredibly rich man.

The catch is that in fact the ferns are not flowering plants. They reproduce by spores, for the formation of which there is no need for flowering, since fertilization occurs on the ground - in droplets of water. There are no species of fern plants that would form flowers.

What is Ferns Afraid of

Ferns are irreplaceable, when it is required to plant a shady garden plot with unpretentious plants with lush foliage.

Garden ferns, unlike the room brothers, are not afraid of anything. They are not afraid of diseases and pests, they carry dry air and scanty soils. Plants are unpretentious, can grow anywhere in the garden - the main thing is that it is in the shade or penumbra. The specimens planted in the sun are "burned" during the summer.

Delicate vayi do not tolerate the wind. The broken leaves wither and the bush becomes painful.

The biggest trouble that can happen to a plant is a prolonged drought. A bush planted in an open sunny place, and not under a tree crown, will feel oppressed and will never reach the proper size and splendor.