Ferns are one of the most amazing plants in the world: they have been living on Earth for more than 300 million years, have adapted to the most diverse climatic conditions (there are more than 12 thousand different ferns), have a decorative appearance and have useful properties.
Pteris occupies a special place among ferns, as this large and beautiful plant will appeal both to inexperienced gardeners (caring for a plant at home is simple) and to sophisticated flower lovers.
- Pteris (Orlyak): description and types
- Conditions for growing pteris
- Lighting, temperature and humidity
- What should be the soil and capacity for planting
- How to plant pteris: reproduction of indoor fern
- Features care for ferns at home
- How often to water pteris
- Feeding pterisa
- Home fern transplant
- The main problems in growing pteris
Pteris (Orlyak): description and types
Pteris (Pteris L.) is a genus of ferns, which includes about 250 species of perennial plants. The zone of their distribution is wide enough: from temperate latitudes and subtropics to the tropics.
Bracken fern (pteris) has the following description: ground plant, reaches a height of 0.6 m to 2.5 m. The rhizome is short, covered with hairs or scales. Directly from the rhizomes shoots, leaves.
Leaf shoots are leathery or elastic, pinnate. The color of the leaf plates is green (from light green to emerald shades). As a result of selection variegated varieties are bred. On the lower edge of the leaf plates are sporangia. Pteris "friends" with almost all the surrounding plants.
Pteris fern lovers most often cultivate at home such species as Crete Cretaceous, Xiphoid, Trembling.
The most common and popular type of houseplant is Crete Pteris (Pteris cretica). In the nature lives in Eurasia and Africa, loves subtropics and warm regions of the middle belt. 
Its length is Wai - from 30 to 50 cm, width - 10-20 cm. Light green shoots are wing-shaped, pinnate with six pairs of segments, growing in several pieces in parallel. Roots - creeping (covered with hairs and scales at the same time). The great advantage of this species is that the Cretan pteris is represented by a large variety assortment:
- "Albo-lineata". This variety is distinguished by wider leaves and a white stripe, which is located along the central vein. Leaves - twice pinnate. Fertile leaves are longer with densely planted sporagia. This is the most unpretentious of ferns;
- "Whimsettii" characterized by increased bushiness, the leaves are green uneven-pinnate with an openwork tip and twisted tips;
- "Parkeri" - straight hard fronds of light green color. Bottom - butterfly;
- "Rivertoniana" - young leaves are distinguished by a pentagonal shape, adults - uneven-circular;
- "Alexandrae". The leaves are light green in color, have cut edges and endings in the form of a crest of a rooster.
For indoor cultivation most commonly used are the following varieties:
- "Victoriae". The variety is distinguished by narrow fertile leaves with denticles, located above the pinnate with white stripes;
- "Evergemiensis". Interesting silver leaves, edged with white stripes.
Pteris tremula - A fern native to Australia, reaches a height of more than 1 m, the leaves on straight petioles are deeply dissected. 
Pteris Fourfoot (P. quadriaurita). Homeland of this species is India. The length of the leaf shoots reaches 90 cm. The leaves are double-pinnate, oblong. The grade "Argyraea" is allocated with a silvery central vein; 
Pteris Multipartite (P. multifida) comes from China. Green double-pinnate leaves grow to a length of 45 cm. 
Among the most interesting varieties stands out "Cristata" (characterized by toothed leaves with rounded comb-widened tops). 
Long-leaved Pteris (P. Longifolia) has smooth leaves of a feathery form (up to 30 pairs on the stem) of a dark green color. Yellow-green scape (20 cm) covered with scales. 
Conditions for growing pteris
Amateur flower growers who have already grown pteris at home know that the care of a fern is simple. Nevertheless, there are several requirements, which should not be neglected. This concerns, above all, light, temperature, degree of moisture and soil quality.
Lighting, temperature and humidity
Pteris, in a natural environment, grows in shaded areas, deciduous forests. This fern does not like the bright sun and direct sunlight,does not tolerate and reacts poorly to dense shadow and twilight (fronds lose their characteristic features).
Therefore, the best conditions are diffused light with the game of partial shade. A pot with a plant can be placed in the depths of the room, on window sills (except the southern direction). If it is impossible to avoid direct sunlight, it is necessary to artificially shade (with a curtain, tulle, paper, gauze, etc.).
When the temperature rises fern will not damage the additional spraying. Pteris reacts quite adequately to temperature drops, but a combination of dry air and high temperature causes great harm to the plant.Therefore, in winter, the fern must be removed from the stoves, heating batteries, heaters, etc.
Caring for a fern at home involves the observance of several simple rules:
- night temperature should be several degrees lower than the daytime temperature;
- lack of drafts (especially in the cold season);
- do not recommend to take the ferns to fresh air (but in the summer you can put it on the balcony, protecting it from the sun, rain and drafts);
- the room where the pteris live should be aired regularly to ensure fresh air.
It should also be remembered that the fern pteris loves high humidity. If the air in the room is dry, then the plant must be sprayed daily with soft water (boiled as a last resort). You can also increase the humidity using sphagnum. Deep containers with expanded clay and water serve as a good remedy (pots with ferns are placed in them so that water does not touch the pot).
What should be the soil and capacity for planting
Best of all, for the normal cultivation of fern, friable fertile neutral or weakly acidic soil is suitable. The soil must be air and water permeable. Adult plants recommended prepare a mixture (in equal parts) of peat, leaf soil, coarse sand and sod.
Many gardeners practice fern breeding at home. For pteris seedlings, you can use the same composition (without sod land), but in a ratio of 2: 1: 2. In addition, there are ready-made mixtures for ferns, which are quite suitable for this species.
It should take care of good soil drainage. When choosing a tank for planting, it should be borne in mind that the drainage layer (better than expanded clay) should occupy approximately ¼ of its volume.
Ceramic pots already have holes for water flow. At the bottom of the plastic container, you need to independently make (drill, burn a hot nail) holes, but when choosing a pot, you need to take into account the varietal characteristics, as well as the fact that large ferns need more stable containers.
How to plant pteris: reproduction of indoor fern
As you know, the process of breeding ferns pteris is carried out in a vegetative way, that is, from spores and by dividing the rhizomes. In the first case, the plant itself helps flower growers, as it is engaged in self-sowing.
Often, in ferns that grow in large tanks, spilled ripe spores enter the soil and produce new growth. It can be carefully dug and transplanted into a small pot.
You can collect disputes and germinate them yourself. Harvesting is best done in March. The maturity of a dispute can be checked as follows: on a white sheet of paper put the fertile vayu sporagia down. If there are traces of brown pollen on paper, then the spores are ripe.
The process of growing ferns spores is as follows:
- collect spores (shake off on paper);
- prepare the container and soil (a small container with a mixture of peat, rotten sawdust and brick dust);
- moisten the mixture, sow spores, sprinkle them from a spray bottle;
- cover with glass or a transparent lid and place in a cool (+ 13 ° C ... + 15 ° C) shade, periodically pouring;
- seedlings transplanted into small pots.
When transplanting, if the plant has a powerful rhizome, it can be divided into 2-3 parts. Each part is placed in a separate pot in the substrate for an adult plant.
This transplant is best done together, as the shoots of the fern are fragile and easily break off (they need to be carefully maintained).
Features care for ferns at home
Pteris does not require special agrotechnical tricks and the basic rules, which must be followed, are quite simple:
- regular watering;
- periodic feeding;
- transplant as needed.
How often to water pteris
In spring and summer, watering should be regular and moderate (a sign of the need for watering is drying the topsoil). In the autumn, the volume of watering is reduced (watering should be carried out for 2-3 days after the topsoil has dried).
Water for irrigation should be:
- soft (rain is best);
- chlorine free;
- room temperature.
Feeding pterisa
Like all other home flowers, the pteris fern needs nutrients, and caring for them requires periodic feeding during spring and summer.
For such fertilizers usually use liquid formulations intended for decorative leafy plants (when using them for ferns, the dose should be reduced by half from that recommended in the instructions). Feed once in 15 days.
With the onset of autumn stop feeding.
Home fern transplant
The growth of pteris is quite fast: the number of shoots increases, and the roots are woven over an earthen ball. All this leads to the fact that every few years the plant must be transplanted.
A new, more spacious pot is taken for transplanting (3-4 cm more than the previous one). If the home fern suffered reproduction by dividing the bush, then the pot does not increase.
It is best to transplant in early spring. At the same time it is necessary to recreate all the comfortable conditions for growth: drainage, water and air permeability of the soil. During transplantation, fronds that are damaged (dried or broken) are cut to the level of the soil.
The main problems in growing pteris
When growing pteris at home, there may be some problems that require timely elimination:
- growth slows down, fronds begin to turn yellow, brown specks appear. The reasons for this may be: high ambient temperature, low humidity, insufficient watering, exposure to direct sunlight;
- sluggish leaf plates, translucency, fading - consequences of excessive light;
- Vayi drawn, become thinner - excessive shading, lack of light;
- deformation wai, wilt and change their color to yellow and brown, the death of young shoots - low temperature, cold water irrigation, drafts, chlorine or lime in water;
- scythe or thrips attack - it is necessary to treat the plants with a soap or oil solution, an insecticide.
