Fittonia Argyroneura (Fittonia Argyroneura), Growing In An Apartment

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Under the horoscope sign Aquarius

According to the horoscope, the sign of Aquarius (January 21-February 18) corresponds to many indoor plants, well known to many flower growers. Among them are pleasant stromant, calathea, dracaena Gosfera, Rowley's cross, gouty jatropha, arrowroot tricolor, coleus, striped abutilone, beautiful poinsettia, silver-veined fittonia.

Fittonia description

Fittonia comes from humid swampy forests - tropics of South America. The genus name (Fittonia) was chosen in honor of two English sisters - Elizabeth and Sarah-Maria Fitton for writing the first classical textbook on botany in the early 19th century. Fittonia belongs to the Acanthaceae family. Many flower growers deservedly consider the charming Fittonia in culture to be very capricious. But she is able to withstand relatively dark corners of the room, where such conditions would not suit many other plants.

And yet it can be found quite often in the collections of florists. Perhaps this is due to the extraordinary decorativeness of fittonia - the pattern of the leaves.

It is a low-growing herb with slender, creeping small stems and showy ovoid light green leaves, decorated with red, pink or white veins. In spring, under favorable conditions, Fittonia can bloom, but its small yellowish flowers, collected in a spike-shaped inflorescence, are not very decorative.

What fittonia likes and dislikes

Fittonia does not tolerate direct sunlight: in bright light, the leaves turn pale, wrinkle. But you also don't need to test it by placing it in too dark places. Therefore, the best option for her would be a place near the window in light partial shade. It is sometimes important to choose the optimal amount of light for the plant: sometimes it is not enough for it, sometimes it is a lot. If the pot with this plant is moved to fresh air in the summer months, be sure to shade from direct sunlight, otherwise burns will appear on the leaves. The main thing to know is that Fittonia is very thermophilic. The ideal temperature for its maintenance is within 22 … 25 ° С throughout the year. For the summer period, experts consider 20 … 25 ° C the optimum. The plant tolerates drafts and sudden changes in temperature very painfully.

How to water fittonia

The soil should be constantly slightly moist, so Fittonia is watered abundantly (only with soft warm water), but excess moisture is not allowed in it. During the active growing season (April-August), the plant is regularly (every two weeks) fed with a very weak solution of complex fertilizer. It is known that it is very sensitive to an excess of fertilizers, therefore, their rate, as a rule, is halved in comparison with other indoor plants. She also loves high (up to 90%) humidity, so in the summer months it must be humidified regularly.

Or you can put a pot with a plant on a wide pallet, on which stones well moistened with water are laid in an even layer: there is a constant evaporation of water from the bottom up. To bring it closer to its natural conditions, some hobbyists put a pot with a plant in wet peat, in a terrarium, or grow it in a so-called "bottle garden". To arrange such a "garden", they pick up a bottle with a wide neck or take a decorative container with a glass sealed lid. A certain amount of soil substrate is placed at the bottom through the hole and when planting, the plants are watered well enough. After the appearance of condensation on the walls of the container, open the lid daily for 1-2 hours so that the fittonia "breathes", this is done for the first 7-10 days. Later, this lid can be kept closed and the moisture can be monitored (understandablythat there are no drafts or much evaporation in the jar). In the case of too active growth, the plant will have to be thinned out (this procedure is best done in spring - early summer).

According to experienced florists, any Fittonia feels great in the "bottle garden". Here it is important to know what kind of fittonia it is - small-leaved or large-leaved: the former grows successfully in an apartment, but for large-leaved it is still desirable to organize such a "aquarium". If the jar, which constantly covers the plant, is going to be removed so that it develops indoors in the open air, the plant should be cooked gradually, removing the jar for 2-3 hours every day.

In winter, the temperature should not drop below 17 … 18 ° C. Fittonia is not placed too close to the window pane so that it does not freeze from cold air, and it is kept away from the central heating system batteries and heaters, since dry air also impairs its vital functions. Given the short daylight hours, it can be moved to a brighter place during the winter months. Watering is needed moderately enough (especially when kept cool); the soil should not completely dry out, and the water stagnates in the pan.

In order for Fittonia to constantly look lush and elegant (it grew in the form of a "hat" of foliage), it is recommended to pinch the shoots - this leads to their more intensive branching. Shoots hanging over the edge of the pot should be carefully trimmed with sharp scissors or a razor.

Fittonia is recommended to be transplanted annually in the spring using a loose substrate consisting of sod, heather (or coniferous), peat soil and sand (ratio 1: 1: 1/2: 1/2). Since it has a superficial root system, it is preferable to use shallow (5-7 cm high), but rather wide bowls (drainage must be arranged). It is worth noting that young specimens look better, so it is recommended to update Fittonia every 2-3 years.

Reproduction of fittonia

Reproduction of this plant is quite simple: by cuttings, division and layering. In the first case, in spring or summer, an apical stalk 5-8 cm long (longer ones take root longer and weaker) with 3-5 leaves is cut and rooted in the sand (it is better to cover with a glass jar). You can root the cut stalk in water, but its layer should be small - 0.5-1 cm. In this case, it is better saturated with air, and the container itself, along with the stalk, should be placed in a tied large plastic bag. The room temperature should be 25 … 28 ° С. Periodically, the jar is opened (and the package is unfolded) and foliage is sprayed. It can take about 1-1.5 months for rooting. If the jar is taken out of the bag and soon notice a strong wilting of the leaves of the cutting, then it means that it has not yet formed a good root system to survive under normal conditions,and the rooting continues. After the appearance of high-quality roots in a container with water, the cutting is planted in a soil substrate.

You can gently divide the bush and plant it in different containers. Some amateurs plant several cuttings in one wide pot at once, as a result of which this mass of plants will then look very impressive. It is possible to reproduce Fittonia by layering from the stem (due to the "creep" of the plant itself). For this purpose, a part of the stem freed from foliage is sprinkled with earth, and after rooting, it is carefully separated and transferred to a separate container. Sometimes, with a sufficient size of the container, the creeping stems take root themselves. The genus Fittonia has about 10 species, of which the most common indoor species are F. verschaffeltii and F. agryroneura.

The first species is native to Peru. It is a perennial herb with shallow roots and creeping shoots, easily rooting at the nodes. Stems (up to 10 cm in height) are well branched and densely pubescent: young ones with silvery hairs, old ones with greenish hairs. Oval-elliptical leaves (6-10 cm in size) are placed on a small petiole; they are glabrous or slightly pubescent, green-olive, covered with a network of bright pink veins. Nondescript yellowish flowers are collected in a spike-shaped inflorescence (each flower is covered with a large bracts below). Fittonia is silvery-veined (some experts consider it to be a variation of the previous species) - erect stems and oval leaves (up to 5 cm in size), light green, with silvery veins. There are large-leaved varieties in which leaves are about 10 cm long, but small-leaved ones are also obtained. Its popular miniature form - the unpretentious Nana hybrid - has leaves only 2-2.5 cm in size (with the same color), which is welcomed by flower growers, since large-leaved forms are very difficult to grow in a living room: they require constant heat and very high humidity air around the leaves.

I draw your attention to some signs of non-infectious lesions of fittonias due to non-observance of the rules of caring for it. If the tips of the leaves turn brown and dry and the plant slows down, the air may be too dry. The dead leaves are removed and the air humidity is increased.

An indication of an excess or lack of nutrients in the soil may be the yellow-brown tips of the leaves. With insufficient watering, the leaves can curl up and become stained, so make sure that the soil is constantly moist. At temperatures below the recommended temperature (especially at high humidity), the stems can rot (this is manifested in their lethargy). Falling leaves are observed both with too dry indoor air and with excessive watering. In very intense sunlight, the leaves lose their color, thin out and dry out, and with excessive watering, the lower leaves turn yellow. It should be noted that the exposure of the lower part of the stem is natural for fittonia (in the spring the plant is rejuvenated by cutting off the shoots). From pests on fittonia, the appearance of a mealybug, scale insects, thrips and spider mites is possible. To remove these pests, the leaves are wiped with a soapy sponge (try to prevent the foam from getting into the soil), then sprayed with 0.1-0.2% actellic solution (1-2 ml / l of water) 2-3 times with an interval of 10 days …