Centipede Fern: Planting and Care of Polypodium

Many florists love to plant plants that are distinguished by the lack of flowers or catchy appearance. It is precisely such that polypodium, a millipede, can be attributed to. Many have heard the legend of a flowering fern, which brings good luck. And now you can check the legend yourself by planting a strange plant in your home. We will tell you all the nuances of polypodium care, help you grow a plant and multiply it.

Polypodium: Description of a Centipede Fern

Familiarity with the centipede should begin with a description. Polypodium - Squaty herbaceous plant, which belongs to the family of multi-legged, grows in the forests and jungles of South America, Australia, India and New Zealand.

What does a fern look like?

The plant is like a huge water lily in the structure of the aerial part. The fern has a thick branching rhizome, from which leaves leave in rows. It has no stem, so all metabolic processes occur in the root neck and leaf legs. Polypodium grows up to 25 cm in height. The maximum length of the leaves is one meter. The genus polypodium has up to 100 species, which are represented by epiphytic (growing on trees or shrubs) and above-ground ferns. If you need a flower that grows more in width than in height, it means that this plant is for you. The fern has the maximum height and length of leaves in the fourth year of life, if it has been sown with spores, or in the third year, if it has been settled by division.

What you need to know about landing polypodium

Before planting polypodium, you need to think about the conditions of detention and the choice of place for the plant. A fern differs from ordinary flowers not only in the absence of flower stalks and buds, but also in the structure of the crown and roots. That is why we will talk about choosing the right pot for planting, picking up the soil and placing the pot in the house.

The choice of capacity for growing polypodium

Let's start by choosing the right vessel for a millipede-fern. When buying a fern in a pot, you should find out how old a plant is and how much it is in a given container. After purchase, in any case, the fern must be removed from the pot and inspect the roots. If the volume of roots is equal to the volume of the pot, then it is better to transplant it into a new one. Since the root system of the polypodium is quite strong, in the absence of free space in the vessel, the roots will simply break through the plastic pot or begin to “creep out” beyond the soil.

It is necessary to select a pot only in accordance with the size of the roots. In this case, preference is given to low wide vessels that have a large bottom area.In such a pot, the root system will be in its natural (natural) position, and the roots themselves will grow in breadth.

It is recommended to buy a vessel made of strong materials (clay, faience, porcelain, marble) in order to prevent deformation of the pot due to the pressure of the root system.

How to choose a place to grow

Polypodium loves diffused light, so when choosing a place to grow, you should immediately cross out open loggias and south windows.

It is best to place the pot on the east side. The northern part of the room is also a good option. The main task is to eliminate direct sunlight on the leaves of a fern. In the extreme case, you can place the flower on the south side, but in doing so you need to shade the pot location well.

In winter, the fern requires good lighting (as there is no winter as such in its homeland). The duration of the day should be at least eight hours. Additional lighting is provided by fluorescent lamps, which are placed at a distance of 50-70 cm from the plant.

Planting guidelines: selection of polypodium soil

The polypodium fern loves subacid, loose soils that can be purchased at a flower shop or made by yourself. The best option is home “preparation” of the substrate, since you will know for sure that the soil has no harmful impurities.

To prepare the soil, a mix of crushed pine bark, sphagnum and leaf humus is used in the same proportions. This is the ideal composition of the soil, but it is not always possible to find the required components. Another variant of the substrate involves the use of coniferous land, leaf soil, peat, humus soil and sand in a ratio of 1: 2: 1: 1: 1.

Before loading the substrate in the pot on the bottom you need to put the drainage of expanded clay or small pebbles. Although the soil has good drainage properties, however, additional removal of moisture never hurts.

In the event that the soil cannot be prepared at home for any reason, try to find a special substrate for ferns or epiphytes in the flower shop.This soil will have all the necessary properties to ensure the normal growth and development of your pet.

Polypodium landing

Fern breeding at home is a simple matter. There are three breeding methods: division of the bush, reproduction by layering or spores. In the case of generative reproduction (seeds), you will receive a copy of the mother plant without any differences.

Polypodium multiplication by dividing the bush

Bushes are dividing during transplantation. After extracting the root system from the ground, you need to pay attention to the small basal rosettes from which the leaves grow.

Using a sharp construction knife, a part of the roots with a rosette and 2-3 leaves is separated from the mother plant, transplanted into a mini-greenhouse or covered with a jar. Place the cut to sprinkle with charcoal, to avoid rotting. In the first days of the fern kept in a shaded warm place. A young plant requires regular airing and constant humidity.At the same time it is necessary to provide good diffused lighting. In order not to "kill" the mother bush, division is carried out only if there are at least 5-6 developed leaves on the fern; otherwise, the flower will start to ache.

How to propagate the fern spores

It is incredibly difficult to propagate ferns with spores at home, as the plant does not provide the necessary planting material.

When the sporangia on the reverse side of the sheet are browned, the sheet plate is cut and placed in an air-permeable bag to dry.

After a week, the sheet will dry out and the spores will fall to the bottom of the bag. Immediately it should be clarified that the germination of the planting material obtained may be close to zero, since it is impossible to repeat all natural processes under room conditions.

For sprouting spores using a "home" greenhouse with underheating. A brick is put into the tank, peat is laid on top of it and about 5 cm of distilled water is poured. Next, spores are put on the peat (they are not buried or pressed) and cover the container with glass.

When the plants reach a height of 5 cm, they dive into separate pots.

Growing home centipede layering

Many florists are familiar with this breeding method. In contrast to dividing a bush, growing a new fern from cuttings carries no risk to the mother plant.

During the period of rapid growth (the end of spring - the beginning of summer), the extreme leaf of a fern should be slightly cut along the center, bend down to the ground and sprinkled with soil at the incision site. To keep the sheet better in the soil, it is fixed with wire.

At the site of the incision should appear the roots. This is facilitated by abundant watering and the introduction of dressings under the mother bush.

From time to time you need to check the sheet for the presence of roots. A new plant can be separated from the parent plant only after the formation of a sufficiently strong root system.

Polypodium Care Rules

Caring for a fern at home requires compliance with certain rules, which will be discussed in this section. In nature, polypodium grows in a tropical climate, and it is necessary to create similar conditions for it in the house.

Watering a Centipede Fern

Fern should be watered with soft settled water.It is necessary to use tap water, but not distilled.

It should be understood that excessive watering threatens to rot the roots. However, if you use the right soil, and drainage is laid out on the bottom of the pot, then it will be very difficult to “fill” the flower.

Water the plant is recommended as the drying of the upper layer. It is worth noting that the number of irrigations increases with the ambient temperature. Therefore, the soil moisture should be monitored daily.

Fern Fertilizer and Feeding

Fern polypodium in addition to watering requires additional care at home. It is necessary to feed the plant in spring and summer, during the period of rapid growth of the green part and the root system. Top dressing is applied to the soil, but its amount should be four times less than indicated on the package. Fertilizing close up in the soil every two weeks. It is possible to use both organic fertilizers (peat, humus, compost), and complex mineral.

All about transplant room fern

Transplantation is carried out in late spring or early summer. This is mainly done when the roots fill the entire pot or the growth of the fern slows down. Finding out exactly whether a plant needs a transplant or not is possible only after extracting the root system.

We recommend a transplant as the rhizome grows, as any intervention injures the polypodium. If you are sure that the roots are not crowded, you do not need a transplant.

Features polypodium care

Home flower (fern) requires compliance with temperature and high humidity, which is an important part of caring for the plant.

Let's start with the temperature. In spring and summer, ferns are kept at a temperature of + 22-25 ˚C. In autumn and winter, the polypodium hibernates, but the green part of the plant does not fall. During this period, the temperature can be reduced to 16-18 degrees.

Humidity is another factor that affects the health of the fern. In winter, due to the heating elements, the humidity in the room decreases, which leads to a deterioration of the polypodium state. During this period, the plant should be regularly sprayed from a spray dispenser with room temperature separated water. In addition to spraying wet moss or expanded clay, which retains moisture, is put on the tray.

An interesting option is to place a flower in a terrarium, where optimal conditions are created (lighting, temperature, humidity).

Diseases and pests of indoor ferns

The centipede, like many flowers, suffers from diseases and pests, so you should identify the fern's disease in time and get rid of it.

The polypodium is affected by such "popular" parasites as the scab and spider mite. You can fight them with the help of chemistry or folk remedies.

Spider mite Small arachnids mites, whose color varies from dark red to light yellow. Parasitic on almost all household plants, so the infection of one pot threatens with an "epidemic" to all the flowers in the house.You can detect the parasite by dark punctures on the leaves of a fern. Destroyed by such means as Aktara, Aktellik or their equivalent. The people practiced spraying the aerial part with an infusion of onion peel and wiping the leaves with soapy water. You can also just arrange a "shower" to your pet. Since mites love dry air, high humidity will cause them to leave their habitat.

Shchitovka. An unpleasant parasite that plagues many cultures. This is a small insect from the family of hemiptera, which in appearance resembles small polyps of dark or light color. The pest feeds on plant sap, weakening it. Adult flaps are mechanically removed with a brush or tampon soaked in soapy water. After removing the parasite, polypodium needs to be treated with a targeted insecticide.

We turn to other problems with the plant.

1. The leaves begin to turn yellow and dry. This state of the fern is due to an excess of moisture, lack of light or low humidity. Give all the indicators to normal and the plant will recover.
2. Leaf plates fade and become transparent - this is an excess of light or sunburn. Move the plant for a few days in the shade and the polypodium will return to normal.
3. Leaves lose contrast, slowing growth. The reason for such problems is too small or too big pot. Also the cause may be the lack of dressings.

Timely identified diseases facilitate the treatment and rehabilitation of polypodium.

Now you know how to care for a centipede room fern. Follow the instructions described and try to pay maximum attention to your pet, as the plant also likes warmth and care.