Hello Friends!
Today we will look into few related topics like the differences between Ferns and Mosses.
Commonly grown Ornamental Ferns like Christmas Fern, Boston fern, Fox tail fern and Asparagus
fern and the Common Care tips for all these plants.
That�s coming up..
Before we start, lets learn some Basic Botany: and the differences between Ferns and Mosses.
A fern is a member of a group of vascular plants that reproduce via spores and not seeds.
Spores are unicellular dispersal units of certain plants for reproduction.
The ferns have neither seeds nor flowers and They have to be differentiated from Mosses.
Mosses are small flowerless plants and again spread by spores.
They typically grow in dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations.
The difference between the Ferns and Mosses is their Vascular Tissues.
Ferns are vascular, i.e., they have tissues that conducts water and nutrients (that�s
called xylem and phloem), andthey also have branching stems, Whereas Mosses do not have
these.
Well, In Home gardening, Ferns are generally referred to certain ornamental plants like
Asparagus fern, Fox tail fern, the boston fern, Christmas fern, lady fern and many others.
Infact they are not true ferns and they reproduce from flowers and seeds not spores.
Christmas Fern is a special fern which looks similar to the Boston Fern.
Unlike boston fern, Christmas fern has dark green leaves and it thrives well in sunlight.
Its an evergreen plant and is always green and fresh if proper cared.
Its fronds are sometimes used in Christmas decorations and hence the name Christmas fern.
Boston fern: is a common ornamental house plant grown in hanging baskets and also grown
as ground cover.
The boston fern unlike Christmas fern, is a shade loving plant and requires winterizing
and its leaves fall off in winter and grow back at the onset of spring.
Fox Tail Asparagus Fern is my favourite fern.
Its called Foxtail fern because the frond looks like the tail of a fox with beautiful
tightly packed, needle-like leaves that look soft and delicate.
They generally do not require pruning to get their shape and growth.
Asparagus Fern is another beautiful fern normally found in a hanging baskets and also grown
as ground cover.
They are similar to fox tail ferns but the leaves are less densely packed and have need
like leaves.
They can be shaped and well maintained by way of pruning.
Now coming to the common care tips of these ferns:
1.
Sunlight: They are shade loving plants and prefer indirect sunlight.
They should not be kept in direct sunlight.
2.
Temperature and Humidity: They love warm and humid atmosphere.
Consider misting these plants daily to give them a fresh look.
3.
Watering: They love to be kept moist.
Hence daily watering is preferred.
4.
Soil � as usual a well drained soil to adapt daily watering is really good for the plant.
5.
Fertilizers: Yes they need good supply of nitrogen to be lush and green.
You can feed them with NPK 20 0 0 fertilizer once a month.
Or even decomposed cow dung once a month is good enough.
6.
Remove any dead or damaged or discoloured leaves or fronds by using a sharp cutter.
This will encourage new frond growths. 7.
Lastly, Repotting is necessary once in a year or so, because these ferns get root bound
very fast with development of tubules like structures in roots.
Repot them by root pruning either in the same or a larger container.
So, there we have it folks.
That was our short episode on various ferns and how to care for your ferns.
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Happy Gardening.