The word fern ushers in us, a feeling of richness & aroma of nature at its best. Ferns are available from time immemorial, millions of years before the dinosaurs roamed on this planet. They not only adapt to the new environment, but in addition can give mankind, endless list of nature’s gift. It may be in the form of oxygen enrichment, air humidification in the environment it thrives in. Fern care is a must as they outshine their fellow houseplants with zero to very little maintenance as long as the basic favorable conditions are met.
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History – Carboniferous period
As already detailed in my previous blog post, ferns are vascular , non flowering plant unlike mosses, lichens, algae, and fungi . Ferns are almost as old as the first land plant which evolved from water plants . In the super continent, Pangaea Ferns were thriving all throughout. This has paved the way for diversification and evolution of new varieties of fern during Carboniferous Period. Botanists term this aeon as “The Age of Ferns”.
Due to a large variety of such of tropical plants like Ferns and their associated families, there has been an optimization in the oxygen component of the atmosphere from 10 % to 15+ %. This gave a benefit in the form of fall in Carbon dioxide level. This was fixed by these plants and absorbed into the soil. This period led to the formation of fossil fuels.
What are the basic types of Ferns?
Considering their long history and diversified family traits, ferns have thousands of varieties. Their size varies from minute kidney ferns to that of fern trees which grow as high as 40 meters. Though they are found all across the globe , Ferns are predominantly of tropical plants with respect to habitat which throve on good level of humidity and warmth. Good news is , most of them can be grown in indoor as house plants. Fern care can make them live more than a century too.
Pre-requisites – How do you maintain Fern Care ?
- Ferns are quite gentle in nature. so any extreme, be it, dry air , low humidity won’t help them. Ensure that they are satisfied. Once you ensure fern care from such harsh environment , be rest assured that you get a beautified garden , full of ferns and fronds
- Though there are many tropical ferns , temperate ferns too form a major share. You should ensure that the indoor environment suit them too. Temperate ferns warrant cooler environment as they are designed for that.
How do you ensure fern care ?
Making a fern healthier involves various activities of fern care with a keen and trained eyes.
- Some ferns’ leaves turn yellow after being indoor for longer duration. That’s an indication that they starve for light. You relocate them in the sit out /balcony on specific periods of the day depending upon sunlight availability. Although most ferns grow in shady places under bigger trees of the dense forest, they definitely require some light.
- Brown leaves: too much direct sunlight or not watering enough.
- Ensure that they are away from direct sunlight. Also note that cold is not favorable to most of the fern varieties.
- For maintaining proper fern care through continuous moisture , they may be sprayed with water mist at regular intervals, if it’s not possible to have a humidifier .
- Remember that most ferns are accustomed to the terrain of dense forest. The forest soil’s top layer is characterized by fallen leaves, barks, branches and vegetables which do not retain water. They are quite loose in nature and ferns’ roots are quite tender and delicate because of that. Hence through your fern care, manure /compost should be able to retain the moisture and never dry out and at the same time water stagnation is to be avoided.
- Avoid incandescent bulbs which generate high level of heat which will be detrimental to fern care . They of course have become obsolete now. Use LED lamps or specially made garden fluorescent lamps . Ordinary light bulbs generate too much heat. There is no specific temperature suitable for ferns. However 20 deg C for tropical ferns and 15 degC for temperate ferns will do.
Fern Care through pot preparation :
Following is the basic ingredient for a pot preparation towards fern care .
- Soil – 1 Part
- Fibrous peat – 1 part
- Pumice – 1 Part
- Pebble/Gravel – 1 Part
- Tree leaves , wooden chips – 1 part
Make the pot with loose medium.
- Indoor /House Ferns thrive well on humidified environment. the pot should be kept damp through a layer of clay of moistened marble stones /pebbles/gravels . At the same time take care that the roots do not get stagnated with water which is not good for them
- Spring time is the ideal season for re-potting of ferns. During re-potting , cut off any damaged frond. Also this is the time for splitting and making more fern plants.
- Ensure that the roots and spread throughout the pot and well established. If not, only the top layer of compost is to be replenished.
Fertilizer to ensure fern care
One of the most important topics in fern care is fertilizer
- Spring to Autumn ( March – August ) is the best season for fertilizing..
- The frequency should be every 2-3 weeks
- Over fertilizing is more dangerous than under fertilizing as it may cause the plant to burn out. Never exceed the dosage or strength.
- Maintain the fertilizer feed during summer time. However reduce the frequency and quantity of feeding during winter and cold weather time.
How often should I water a fern?
Frequency of watering plays a major role in the success and failure of fern care
- Ferns require around 1-2 inches of water each week.
- It has be watered when the top 3 inches of soil is dry
- But water logging is detrimental to fern’s roots
Fern care is a vast subject. I have covered only little in this post.. Will come back with more in the coming weeks. Kindly feel free to post your views/comments