Description of pellets, secrets of care and cultivation, recommendations for choosing soil and replanting, independent fern reproduction, pest control methods. Pellea (Pellaea) belongs to the Sinopteridaceae family, which is represented by 80 species of these plants. The native habitat extends to almost all continents of the globe, where temperate, tropical and subtropical climates prevail. But most of all representatives of pellets are found on the American continent and the islands of New Zealand. Sometimes this fern loves to settle in coastal areas, differs from its congeners in that it perfectly tolerates short-term dry periods, to which it can respond by dumping deciduous mass. But as soon as the rainy time comes, the plant comes to life again. If the conditions are favorable enough for the pellet, then the leaves are stretched long enough, and it acquires a special decorative effect and is used as an ampel decoration of the interior. The original name for the name is the Latin word pellos - dark (this is the color in which the petioles and stems of the plant are painted).
The plant is a herbaceous species, reaching a quarter of a meter in height. The leaves have a complex shape and extend up to 30 cm in length from the base and not exceeding 13 mm in width. Depending on what type of pellet it is, it reaches 20–40 cm in height. The growing season extends throughout the year, but acceleration occurs just with the arrival of spring heat, at this time of growth over a dozen young leaves begin to appear. Leaves, the life of which is coming to an end, dry up and must be removed.
Most of all, she loves the neighborhood with other ferns. So far, pellets are not widely spread in floriculture due to rumors about their great care requirements.
Recommendations for home cultivation of pellets
- Lighting. Most of all, the plant likes the bright, but diffused lighting that can be obtained on the windows of the south-west or south-east exposure. During lunch, shade from the scorching sun using light curtains, gauze or paper is necessary. When the plant is located on the windowsills of the southern windows, shading is necessary regardless of the time of day. Windows with a northern orientation can also be suitable for successful growth; in winter, you can do without any shading there. As soon as the temperature indicators allow, it is best to take the plant pot out into the fresh air in the shade or partial shade.
- Growing temperature. During the spring-summer period, the most acceptable temperature for pellets is 18–20 degrees, with the arrival of autumn, the indicators can be reduced to 13–15 degrees, but in principle the plant is able to withstand a decrease up to 7 degrees of heat. If the temperature indicators begin to exceed 20 degrees during the hot period, then it is necessary to place the plant in a large shade and a cool place, since not observing moderate temperatures will cause the leaves to age and dry out as soon as possible.
- Air humidity. Pellea normally tolerates low levels of air humidity - this distinguishes it from other representatives of ferns. For its normal growth, a humidity of 50% is quite suitable. With high humidity, damage by various putrefactive processes can begin. Spraying is used during the autumn-winter months, in conditions of increased dryness of indoor air or whiter high temperatures than recommended for wintering. For spraying, soft water (filtered, boiled or settled) with a temperature not exceeding 20-23 degrees is used. It is best when the sprayer releases a fine spray to spray close to the plant. Also, the plant loves fresh air and it is recommended to often ventilate the room in which the pellet pot is located.
- Watering pellets. In order to water the plant, it is necessary to develop a regime with moderate and regular soil moisture. Watering begins when the top 3-4 cm of the soil has already dried out. It is important that the land is never too dry or flooded. When the plant is waterlogged, it immediately begins to rot. The drained water in the sump must be removed immediately, as this is very harmful to the pellet. Water for irrigation is specially settled, to soften and remove lime salts, you can also use peat (about a handful), which is wrapped in gauze and left overnight in a bucket of water, but melted snow or rainwater is best suited for irrigation. The temperature for watering is brought to room temperature (approximately 20-23 degrees). When watering, care must be taken so that moisture does not get on the sheet plates. During the spring-summer period, watering becomes three times a week, with a decrease in temperatures, you can water only once for 7 days. It is best to use "bottom" watering to avoid flooding or getting drops on the leaves of the plant - water must be poured into the pan of the pot. After 15 minutes, excess water that the plant has not used needs to be removed.
- Fertilizers for pellets. With the arrival of spring and until the last days of August, it is necessary to make top dressing. For this, it is recommended to use liquid solutions for ornamental and deciduous plants growing in indoor conditions. This procedure is performed at three-week intervals in the dosages indicated by the manufacturer, it is dissolved in water when watering the plant. It is also necessary to alternate these fertilizing with organic fertilizers. During the period of winter dormancy, the plant is not disturbed by top dressing.
- The choice of soil for replanting. Transplanting a plant is required when its roots have completely mastered the land provided to them. The container for transplanting is chosen a little wider and slightly larger than the previous one, since the root grows more in breadth. But there is information that it is only necessary to change the substrate to a new and nutritious one, and the pot can be left the same. With this procedure, only the soil that spontaneously separated from the root system changes. Holes are necessarily made in the pot for the outflow of water that has not been absorbed by the soil and the plant. A small layer of chalk is poured onto the bottom of the container. After transplanting, the pellet is placed in a sufficiently warm and shaded place for the plant to come to life.
The soil for the pellet should be "cooler", rather loose and breathable. You can use special ready-made mixtures for ferns, but add crushed charcoal or finely chopped sphagnum moss to them (all these components to facilitate the soil mixture).
Substrates based on the following components have the same properties:
- leafy land, humus soil, coarse sand or bark of conifers (both are used to lighten the soil) - the recommended proportions are 2: 0, 5: 1, respectively;
- leafy soil, peat soil, humus, coarse sand - all in equal parts;
The plant is cleaned of dust using a soft brush or broom; it is not recommended to wipe the leaf plates. Pruning is carried out only on very old or completely shriveled wai (this is the name of a fern leaf). It is also recommended to periodically divide the bush.
Self-breeding tips for pellets
In order to propagate the pellet, the methods of dividing the rhizome, planting spores or grafting are used.
The division of the rhizome or the bush itself is performed during plant transplantation in the spring. A highly sharpened knife is used and the rhizome is divided into several parts, here it is extremely necessary to take into account the location of the growth points. If there is only one such point or their number is few, then it is undesirable to touch the plant, as this can lead to the loss of the entire bush. After dividing the place of cuts, it is necessary to sprinkle it with crushed charcoal to prevent putrefactive processes (disinfection). Parts of the pellet are planted each in a separate container. The pots are chosen not deep, the plant goes deeper to the same depth as before. Young pellets are covered with a plastic bag to retain moisture. Reproduction by spores is a rather complicated process. Spore cells are formed on the dorsum of the leaf plate. Sowing takes place at the very beginning of spring, and greenhouses with lower soil heating are used, where they adhere to constant indicators of 21 degrees. For this method, it is necessary to cut off the leaf plate on which there are ripe spores (these are brown spots on the back of the sheet), and shake off the spores on a piece of paper. If they do not separate on their own, then they can be carefully scraped off. First, a drainage layer is laid in the greenhouse, and then soil is poured for sowing seeds. The substrate is well moistened, spores are dispersed on it (preferably evenly). The greenhouse is covered with a polyethylene film or glass, then installed in a warm and dark place.
It is necessary to arrange daily airing of seedlings for a short time so that the earth does not have time to dry out. Until the first shoots appear, the greenhouse is not removed from the darkness. This will happen no earlier than in a month, but sometimes you have to wait three. After the spore wakes up, the seedlings are taken to a place with diffused lighting and glass or polyethylene can be removed. As soon as the seedlings grow a little, it is necessary to thin out the sprouts, leaving only the strongest specimens. The distance between them should not exceed 2.5 cm. Those plants that later began to develop well must be transplanted into separate pots with peat, usually several specimens are planted in one pot.
Sterilized bricks and peat soil are also used to plant spores. A centimeter layer of peat is poured on the surface of the brick, the brick is installed in a container filled with water. The height of the water should not exceed half of the brick. Spores are scattered over the surface of the substrate, and the entire container is covered with glass or a polyethylene bag. After the surface of the brick is covered with green (algae), then pellet sprouts will soon hatch.
Possible Pelleys Care Problems and Pests
The defeat of the pellea can pass with a spider mite or mealybug with increased dryness of the air. To combat them, it is necessary to use modern insecticides, since it is not possible to use soap or oil solutions, because the plant does not tolerate washing of leaf plates. Special solutions from pests are sprayed onto the pellets.
Yellowing and subsequently turning brown leaves indicate that the soil is flooded with water or low temperatures. If the tips of the leaf plates begin to acquire a yellow hue, and then dry out, there is low air humidity. Increased illumination leads to yellowing, pallor and deformation of the leaves, decreased illumination leads to stretching of the stem and darkening of the color of the leaf plate. If the temperature has exceeded 23 degrees, then in the future this can lead to deformation, drying and shedding of leaves. The drooping of the leaves indicates insufficient ventilation of the room.
Types of pellets for breeding indoors
- Round-leaved pellet (Pellaea rotundifalia). The native habitat of the island territories of New Zealand, prefers to settle on rocks in wet wooded areas. This is a plant of small height, which reaches up to 30 cm and can reach a little less than half a meter in width. The rhizome has a creeping shape, covered with scales; with growth, bundles are formed. The frond grows up to 25 cm in length and up to 5 cm in width, differing in single-feathering (leaf blades are arranged one by one on a long stem and not opposite each other). On them are from 15 to 20 pairs of leaf plates, which have a rich emerald with a gray tint. The leaves have a bare, wrinkled surface with rounded shapes, slightly pubescent with hairs of a red tone, which adhere tightly to it. The petioles are rather short in size and are covered with brown small scaly plates. Spores (sarus) are placed in wide lines along the curved leaf edge, which covers them.
- Green pellet (Pellaea viridis). The rhizome of this fern is creeping, the stems of the leaves are collected in a rosette, which is close to the roots. Petioles are elongated, brownish. The fronds are distinguished by their single pins and are measured in half a meter long and 20 cm wide. The leaves are glabrous, rough, oval in shape, located on short petioles. It bears a resemblance to the round-leaved pellea, but the bush itself is large and the leaf platinum is more elongated.
- Pelleus spear (Pellaea hastata). The native habitat of growth is African territories, lands of the island of Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. The variety is highly resistant to low temperatures. The rhizome is similar to the previous species. Vayi can be double- or triple-pinned, of which a rosette is collected at the root. They are distinguished by naked, brown, elongated petioles. The length of the frond can be slightly more than half a meter in length and within 25 cm in width. They are divided into triangular-shaped leaves, which are located asymmetrically to each other on short petioles. Spores are located along the entire edge of the leaf plates.
- Pelleia dark purple (Pellaea atropurpurea). The places of the main growth of this species are the North American and Canadian territories, it prefers to settle in the cracks of the limestone rocks. They have half-meter leaves with segments of "leaves" that are located opposite each other (double-pinnate). The color of the segments is bluish-greenish, the petioles are shaded with purple to black shades, have a slight pubescence. There are claims that it can survive the frosts in the middle lane.
- Pellea naked (Pellaea glabella). The native growing areas are Canadian and North American areas. The soil loves rocky with the presence of a large number of limestone rocks. Leaves can grow up to 35 cm in length, are linear, single- or double-pinned. Petioles are completely naked, brown in color. This fern is preferable to grow in the open field, loves bright sunlight, can perfectly tolerate midday hot rays without shading. Withstands rather low temperatures, does not require winter cover from frost. It is often used in landscape design to decorate slides.
- Pelleus hooked (Pellaea mucronata). It can also be found under the name Allosorus mucronatus. The stems of this fern grow upward, and have a centimeter diameter. They are covered with scaly small plates of a linear and subulate shape, painted in black tones in the very center with brown edges. All leaves are the same in shape and color, grow in groups with sizes that can vary from 7 to 45 cm in length. The petioles are shaded brown, have a flattened shape or are pierced with grooves. Leaf segments in the form of elongated rounded triangles.
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