Fern reproduction - scheme and description

Reproduction of ferns is a peculiar process of extending the life of a plant already in cultivation. There are many types of it that are kept at home or in the garden, since the plant has a high decorative effect and is not capricious in its care.

What is fern

Ferns or lyes are among the most ancient representatives of the plant world of the planet Earth. Once they grew in the form of tall trees, but today they grow as low shrubs, about 1 meter high. Reproduction of ferns, such as ostrich, horsetail, bracken, occurs with the help of spores that form on the back of the leaf plates.

Indoor fern - an ornamental deciduous plant

How ferns reproduce in nature

Ferns develop and reproduce in the wild takes a little longer than at home. The plant reproduces with spores or brood buds. Each season, plants of the Fern class form spores and undergo cycles of sporophytes and gametophytes.

Scheme and description of fern reproduction in a natural way independently in nature:

• the formation of sporangia on the leaves of the fern, inside which spores form;
• after their full formation, they separate from the plates and are carried in the water or around the area with the help of the wind;
• under good climatic conditions, an overgrowth grows from them, which, with the help of its rhizoid, is fixed in the ground;
• on the underside of this outgrowth, female and male germ cells appear, inside which fertilization occurs;
• soon a zygote appears, which forms its root system and grows into the soil.

The main ways to get a new plant at home

At home in the garden, ferns can be propagated in many ways. As a rule, they refer to the vegetative and spore method. Plaunas propagate vegetatively by rooting lateral aerial shoots, planting brood buds and dividing the mother bush into several parts. The spore method involves collecting the formed spores and sowing them into the ground.

What is the most effective way

All methods are widely used by fern owners, so it is difficult to say exactly which one is more effective. If you choose a method with a higher survival rate, then this is spore seeding. However, it takes a long time.

The effectiveness of the method is determined by the type of fern, since each variety has its own morphological structure.

Separation of the root system of an adult bush

How and when to share a bush

One of the most effective and shortest vegetative breeding methods for lycopods is - dividing an adult bush. Before carrying out this procedure, it is necessary to water the bush abundantly with water at room temperature in order to easily pull it out of the soil without damaging the root system.

How to propagate indoor fern by dividing the bush:

1. Dig holes in advance with a depth of 40-60 centimeters.Their bottom is covered with drainage material, and sprinkled with soil mixture on top.
2. They pull the plant out of the old soil and divide it into several equal parts.
3. Each of them is planted in a separate hole or pot.

Thorough root watering is carried out once a week and watered twice from above with a watering can.

Spores on the back of leaves

How ferns reproduce by spores

This method is most effective in the spring after warming up the soil. Sowing in a pot is done in autumn or early spring.

How fern reproduces with spores at home:

1. Moisten the soil from a spray bottle.
2. Sprinkle spores on top.
3. Sprinkle with earth on top with a layer of 3 centimeters.
4. Cover from above with glass or plastic containers, since it is necessary to create a greenhouse effect.
5. When sprouts appear, you will need to remove the shelter for 2 hours daily.

How to root side shoots

Arrows in the form of tendrils appear on the leaf plates of garden ferns, which can be rooted in the ground. Next to the plant that has formed this green arrow, you need to put a separate container with a nutrient substrate. It is important that this container is either the same height or slightly lower than the parent plant pot.

Two containers are placed side by side and a lateral shoot with a healthy and stable mustache is bent to the ground. Slightly add soil to it. If necessary, secure with a hairpin or wire. After that, it is thoroughly moistened and both containers are left in a well-lit place.

Brood buds are formed on leaf plates

How to propagate a fern with brood buds

Another vegetative way by which the fern can reproduce at home is to plant the formed buds on the leaves in the ground. Fern-like plants have the ability to grow lateral processes on the petioles of their leaf plates. You can not plant an unformed kidney, it must release small roots.

Carefully separate the process one by one and plant them in a box with a substrate. Moisten the soil and put it in a warm and bright place. It is necessary to create a humid microclimate for the growth of the kidneys, so at first they can be covered with a film.

As soon as 2-3 leaves appear on the seedlings, you can remove the film and plant them in separate containers.

Features of caring for sprouted ferns

The subsequent fern care after breeding consists in the following activities:

• Air humidity. Small seedlings after transplanting are especially sensitive to moisture. It is necessary to try to maintain it at high rates, especially in winter with additional heating of the room. Every day you need to spray the bushes from a spray bottle, and if the air is especially dry, the procedure can be repeated several times a day.
• Regular watering on a schedule. You cannot violate the regime and ignore this procedure, but you do not need to transfuse the plants. Young seedlings are especially prone to root rot due to stagnant water in the soil. When planting, it is recommended to first cover the drainage at the bottom of the pot and only then fill the substrate. Also, do not forget to drain excess liquid from the sump.
• Top dressing. Fertilizers are best applied in liquid form, dissolving the preparations in ordinary water and in low concentration. The procedure is carried out every two weeks. It is necessary to use complex mineral preparations for fern shrubs.During this period, for the normal development of the plant, all minerals are needed, especially nitrogen, which helps to build up green mass.
• Lighting should be long-term, but slightly diffused, so as not to burn the delicate leaves. It is necessary to put a box of seedlings on the south window in the winter and transfer to the east or west side with the arrival of warm clear days.
• Temperature conditions. The most optimal indicators during this period are considered - 22-25 ℃.

Home ferns take root easily after breeding at home

Indoor ferns are decorative deciduous evergreen shrubs that have a pleasant appearance and are able to refresh any nondescript interior. It is placed in offices and other premises to add coziness. Fern propagation is an easy and efficient process that can be done in many ways. The main thing then is to provide the seedlings with careful and proper care so as not to completely lose all the planted planting material.