Pteris

 
птерис критский

Pteris family. Homeland tropical areas of Japan, USA, South Africa, New Zealand, Mediterranean. Includes about 250 species.

  • Pteris cretica is a terrestrial plant with a creeping rhizome with pinnately dissected wai on long yellowish petioles. Wai 20-50cm long and 15-20cm wide. On the vaias there are 2-6 segments of linear lanceolate shape with a serrate edge. It has spore-bearing and sterile (not spore-bearing) wai. One of the most common varieties of Pteris cretica albolineata is with a wide white stripe along the central vein.
  • Pteris longifolia is a fern with a creeping rhizome covered with brown scales. Wai about 40-70 cm long and 10-20 cm wide on short petioles. Wai carry about 20-30 pairs of narrowly triangular shaped segments 5 to 10 cm long and 1 cm wide. Sporangia along the edge of the segment in a continuous line.
  • Multi-cut Pteris multifida - with double-pinnately dissected wai, about 20-40 cm long and 15-20 cm wide. Segments are linear in shape, about 2 mm wide (very narrow and long), with a serrate edge. Sporangia along the edge of the segment in a continuous line.

Care for pteris

Care for pteris is exactly the same as for any other ferns: uniform moistening, periodic loosening of the top layer of soil, removal of dry leaves, inspection for the appearance of pests, especially ticks. Protect the plant from cold drafts, do not forget on the balcony at night, if it is still cold! Do not put pots so that the leaves hang from the edge of the windowsill directly above the battery, do not hang opposite the window.

Temperature: In summer about 20-22 ° C, in winter about 14-15 ° C, but not lower than 12 ° C for varieties with green leaves, and not lower than 16 ° C for variegated varieties. In general, pteris grows well at normal home temperature throughout the year.

Lighting: The place for pteris should be light enough, but with shading from direct sunlight, light partial shade. It can grow in quite dark places, but the bush will be liquid and ugly. The ideal place is the window sill of the east or northwest window.

Watering: Watering only chlorine-free fluoride with pure soft water. If the water in your area is hard, use special softening water filters for filtration. In spring and summer, watering is so abundant that only the upper part of the soil has time to dry. In winter, moderate, its frequency depends on the temperature, but in any case, the soil should not dry completely into dust. When watering, you can slightly acidify the water with citric acid.

птерис

Fertilizer: Liquid fertilization for indoor deciduous plants from May to August every two weeks, in a dose taken 2 times less than recommended by the manufacturer. Do not use fertilizers that may contain chlorine and have an alkaline environment.

Humidity: Pteris, like all ferns, does not tolerate dry air well, and therefore requires frequent spraying with soft warm water. You can put the pot on a tray with wet expanded clay or sphagnum moss.

Transplant: In the spring, only when the roots fill the whole pot. The soil for pteris should have a slightly acidic reaction. The soil can be composed of 1 part of light turf, 1 part of sheet, 1 part of humus and 1 part of fine gravel. The second option: 1 part of the store universal soil, part of chopped pine bark, 1 part of vermiculite, biohumus fertilizer (according to the recommendation on the package, on average 1/8 part of the total volume). Do not forget that when growing pteris in a hanging planter, it is imperative to drain excess water after copious watering.

Reproduction: By dividing the bush. It is not advisable to divide small plants and weakened by diseases. Ferns tolerate cutting roots painfully, so don't shred the mother plant, just carefully cut off the part with a few leaves on the side of the bush. Plant separately in a small pot.

Growing problems

The leaves turn yellow, dry brown spots appear on them - probably the plant was very dry. The appearance of a spider tick should not be ruled out. Inspect the back of the leaves for pests and probe the soil at pot depth. If the soil is very dry, then when watering, water can quickly flow down the walls, but not wet with an earthen lump.

The leaves droop, acquire a yellowish-gray color - probably the plant was flooded, that is, after watering the soil dried for a very long time, but did not have time to dry even to half, as it was watered again. Check the soil in the back of the pot if it is too damp - you need to remove the pteris from the pot and dry the roots. Then plant in fresh soil.

The leaves are faded, translucent, lethargic - this is possible if the sunlight is too intense or if it is too cold.

Leaves can turn yellow, brown, curl and fall, young leaves wilt and die - at too low a temperature, from exposure to cold draft, watering with cold water, when watered with hard or chlorinated water.

By the way

Of the pests affecting pteris, it should be noted :
They can get a shield or false shield on a plant in a store, from other plants, they look like brown (from light to dark) spots of a rounded shape with a pronounced rigid shield, or translucent even without a shield. The first sign is yellowing of the leaves. Examine both sides of the sheet.

Trips - also affects ferns, can get into the house from the street and from garden flowers (cuts). The leaves acquire not a yellow, but a silver tint, wilt. You can also see black drops of pest excrement and whitish skins from molting.

Ticks - when they appear, the leaves become marbled yellow, or light hatching spots appear. The pest reproduces very quickly and causes fern shrinkage and death.

Read details, symptoms, photo of pests control methods in the Flower pests section