Description of the distinctive features of the plant, agricultural techniques for caring for davallia, breeding rules, diseases and pests, interesting facts, species. Davallia is a plant belonging to the genus Fern (Polypodiophyta), with a long life cycle, which is distinguished by a high growth rate. She looks very exotic, not too similar to the Blehnum, Asplenium or Adiantum (indoor ferns) known to us, which reproduce by spores. Davallia is a member of the Davalliaceae family of the same name, which bears its name in honor of the botanist from England Edmund Davall (1763–1798). The number of varieties is estimated at 40 units. The plant loves to settle in crevices or on the thick bark of trees, as an epiphyte, in the territories of tropical Asia, and can also be found in the Chinese and Japanese lands, the islands of Polynesia, the Fiji archipelagos and the Malay archipelago, grows in the Australian continent and the Canary Islands.
People called davallia “hare's feet” or “squirrel's feet”, as well as “deer's leg” for its unusual appearance, but this most likely refers to the most favorite variety - Canarian Davalia.
So, davallia is an epiphytic plant with a herbaceous form of growth. It has a plump creeping rhizome, the average length of which is 15 cm. Its surface is often covered with scales at its very base or dense pubescence of beige, brownish-red or whitish hairs (for this feature, the people received their nicknames close to the animal world) … These root shoots grow widely over the surface of the substrate or are outweighed from the pot. With their curves, they resemble the legs of small animals. The plant rarely exceeds 50 cm in height.
And not only the rhizome, but also the leaves - frond, are of interest to flower growers. Their outlines are fine-feathery, with a three- or four-pinnate dissection. The surface of the leaf lobes is leathery, with a bright green color, triangular in shape. Their length varies in the range of 10–30 cm with a width of about 10–20 cm. Like all ferns, davallia leaves have sporangia - organs inherent in all representatives of such plants, with the help of which spores are produced. On fertile leaves, they can usually be located at the very top of the leaf lobe. The petioles of the leaves coincide in length with the vayas themselves. Their surface can be glossy with a brown tint.
Some varieties are so attractive to flower growers that it is customary to grow them indoors, in greenhouse conditions, or as an ampelous culture.
Tips for taking care of your davallia at home
- Lighting and location selection. Most of all, the plant "squirrel legs" loves to "bask" under the diffused rays of sunlight. Therefore, it is recommended to place the davallia pot on the windowsills of windows facing the west or east sides of the world. If the flowerpot with the plant is on the southern location of the window, then direct sunlight should be shaded, especially in summer, in order to avoid sunburn on the leaves.
- Content temperature. If we talk about a comfortable temperature when growing squirrel legs, then in the spring-summer period it should be at the level of 18-22 degrees, and with the arrival of autumn, the heat indices should be gradually reduced to 15, but not lower. The plant is afraid of the action of a draft, and it does not tolerate low temperatures, it can shed all its beautiful leaves, but in the spring there is a chance that davallia will grow new fronds.
- Air humidity. The plant needs an increased moisture content in the air, and very dry air will not please dawallia and under such unfavorable conditions can be affected by pests, and new fronds do not appear in the required amount. For comfortable cultivation, you will still need to maintain increased humidity levels around 70%. Usually, mechanical humidifiers or, in extreme cases, vessels with water are placed next to the pot of "rabbit legs". One of the good ways to increase the humidity level is to place the plant pot on a deep tray with expanded clay or pebbles at the bottom and some water poured into it. The main thing is to make sure that the bottom of the pot does not touch the liquid level. You can also spray the hairy roots of the plant with warm soft water from a fine spray.
- Watering. In the summer, such watering should be abundant so that the substrate in the flowerpot is always slightly moistened, and with the arrival of autumn, watering is reduced to moderate. Soil moistening is carried out with well-settled water with room temperature (20-24 degrees). If in winter the majority of wai in davallia has fallen out, then the plant goes into dormancy and moisture for this period is minimal, only so that the soil in the pot does not dry out. If "squirrel feet" are grown on a snag, then watering is carried out by immersing a part of the root system of the bush in a basin of water for 20-25 minutes. The main thing is that in this case the liquid does not fall on the sheet plates. After this time, the plant is taken out and the water is allowed to drain well.
- Fertilizer davallia. To maintain the decorative and healthy appearance of the bush of "hare's legs", you need to apply feeding for decorative deciduous representatives of the flora. Fertilizer is best diluted in half with water. It is recommended to feed davallia only from late spring to early September with regularity every 14 days, separately from watering.
- Pruning a plant. The bush of "rabbit legs" is distinguished by a neat and graceful shape, so pruning is practically not used. It will be necessary to remove only diseased or dried fronds, which spoil all the decorativeness of the davallia. Such parts are cut off at the very base. Important! It is impossible in any case to remove the aerial roots of the "squirrel legs", as this will lead to the death of the bush.
- Dawallia transplant and substrate selection. With the arrival of spring time, if the roots of the "squirrel legs" have filled the entire pot, then a transplant will need to be carried out with a change of the flowerpot and the soil in it. The pot is selected shallow, since the root system of the plant is superficial. If the variety is ampelous, then it is planted in a hanging flowerpot. The main thing is not to use plastic containers. Often, due to the fact that the plant is an epiphyte, a picturesque piece of tree bark, snag or something similar is used for its growth. In this case, the bush must be fixed on the selected material with a rope or fishing line, and overlaid with sphagnum moss or coconut fiber. But with such a cultivation, watering davallia will need to be treated with great attention. The substrate is selected with a slightly acidic reaction, loose and light. You can mix such a composition yourself by combining light turf soil, leafy soil and peat soil, chopped sphagnum moss and river sand in a ratio of 1: 2: 2: 1: 1, respectively.
Important to remember!!! When transplanting davallia, it is impossible to deepen the roots of the plant too much, you only need to slightly dig a part of them into the substrate, or first immerse the root system in a container, and then sprinkle it with soil a little.
Do-it-yourself breeding rules for davallii
You can get a new exotic fern using the methods of dividing the mother plant, planting spores or pieces of rhizome.
For rhizome propagation, you will need to take pieces of the root, which has stems and leaf plates (fronds). These delenki must be planted in a prepared moist soil, placing the "hare's feet" on the surface of the substrate and pressing them a little, you can fix it to the soil using a hairpin or an unbent paper clip. After a certain period (about 2 months), young shoots of stems will appear on the fluffy pieces of roots.
If a decision is made to divide the mother dawallia bush, then this method is very similar to the previous reproduction using pieces of rhizome. The only difference is that large parts of the divided plant are used for rooting. For this, a sharpened knife is used and the root system is cut, for example, into 2-3 divisions. All media are recommended to be powdered with crushed activated charcoal or charcoal. The substrate used is the same as for the fern transplant.
As is well known, plants similar to davallia do not bloom and do not form seeds, but a large number of spores appear. They will need to be carefully scraped onto a piece of paper and dried within a short time. Then a container with disinfected and slightly moistened peat is taken, the collected material is evenly distributed on its surface. The container with crops is covered with a plastic bag and placed in a dark and warm place (the temperature during germination is maintained within 20-22 degrees). It is important not to forget to carry out regular ventilation and if the soil dries out, moisten it from a fine atomizer. Spores germinate after a short period of time, and when a couple of leaves appear on the seedlings, a pick can be carried out.
Fern pest and disease control
Of the pests that can harm davallia, scabbards and spider mites can be distinguished. The first insects, settling on a plant, appear in the form of brown-brown plaques on the back of the leaf lobes, if you do not take any measures for a long time, then soon all the leaves will begin to cover with a sticky sugary bloom (pest secretions), the leaves will turn yellow, become deformed and fly around. A spider mite will also harm, sucking vital juices from the leaves, and then you can see a thin cobweb on the foliage and in internodes. It is important to carry out the treatment with insecticidal agents on time (for example, Aktara or Aktellik).
Of the problems arising from violation of the rules for keeping the "rabbit's foot", one can note:
- root decay occurs due to the abundant moisture of the substrate;
- drying of the tips of the leaf lobes in wai, and their subsequent fall is a consequence of low air humidity in the room where davallia is contained, and as a result, the plant can be affected by a spider mite;
- if direct sunlight falls on the frond plants for a long time, this will lead to burns;
- do not use preparations to give gloss to the surface of the leaves;
- if you feed davallia in the autumn-winter period, then this will cause a fern disease;
- when the "rabbit's foot" bush was planted in heavy soil, its root system stops developing due to soil acidification and, as a result, the plant will die.
Interesting facts about davallia
It is important to remember, since davallia is a fern plant that gives spores instead of flowers, in some people with high sensitivity it can cause not only allergies, but also asthma attacks. It is contraindicated for such people to have a "rabbit's foot".
In its wild form, davallia is found in Japan and has been exported to various countries for many years in the form of exotic souvenirs that resemble a monkey in their outlines.
Types of davallia
- Davallia canariensis by the name of this variety, it is possible without mistake to determine the native places of growth - the Canary Islands, and this variety is also found on the Iberian Peninsula and on the lands of North Africa. It is an epiphytic plant (living on the trunks and branches of trees), with a long life cycle, curly, with a straight and thick rhizome, its length is 15 cm. It is covered with elastic leaves of brown color with subulate outlines. The leaf plates are four-pinnately dissected, their length reaches 30–45 cm, and their width varies within 22–30 cm. The surface of the leaves is leathery, their arrangement is very dense, the leaf parts are devoid of petioles (sessile) with oval-diamond-shaped contours, dissected, with serrated edges. The petiole of the leaf itself is straight, reaching 10–20 cm in length. Sporangia are located very densely, their number is very large. They are mainly located at the top. Goblet-shaped bedspread. This variety is suitable for growing in cool rooms and is quite decorative due to its delicate foliage. It bears synonymous names - Trichomanes canariensis.
- Davallia solida grows on the territories of the Malay Peninsula, the Malay Archipelago, and can also be found in Polynesia and the Australian continent. A climbing plant with a perennial life span. It is also an epiphyte. The rhizome is thin, lignified over time, its surface is covered with threadlike scales. The leaves have three-fold feathery outlines, wide-triangular. Their sizes in length vary in the range of 30-50 cm with a width of about 15-25 cm. The leaf lobes are finely lobed, linear. Each fertile leaf part has one sporangium, while sterile ones are rounded with a serrated edge. The petiole grows up to 30 cm in length, it is glossy with a brown color. It is most often grown as an ampelous crop, but this variety is not as decorative as the previous one due to the structure of the leaf lobes, in the form of lobes. Should be kept in warm and humid conditions.
- Davallia vesicular (Davallia bullata), sometimes called Davallia pineal. The territories of China, Japan and the lands of tropical Asia can be considered the native lands of their growth. Perennial with a creeping rhizome, which covers the hairs of a light brown hue. Leaf plates with triple or quadruple pinnate dissection. They reach 20–25 cm in length and up to 15 cm in width. The leaf lobes are linear, deeply dissected. Those at the top have a jagged edge. Sporangia are located at the tips of the leaf lobes. Goblet-shaped bedspread. The species is very decorative, it is grown in damp and warm rooms.
- Davallia dissecta is a cultivar with straw-shaped petioles and narrow fronds.
- Fijian Davallia (Davallia fejeensis) considers the island regions of the Fiji archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean as his native territories. Creeping rhizome with whitish root processes. Vayi have the ability to crumble.
- Davallia mariesii is a plant, the height of which does not exceed 25 cm, leaf fronds are four-pinnate. The leaf lobes are triangular in shape, painted in light greenish shades. Rhizome with long and thin root processes, often intertwined. The homeland of this variety is considered to be the territory of Japan, but in our country it is customary to cultivate it in cold greenhouses, since the increased heat indices in the autumn-winter period are detrimental to the "rabbit's foot".
- Davallia trichomanoides, also known as the Black Rabbit Foot. It grows on the territory of Malaysia and the height of its casting can reach parameters in the range of 15–45 cm. The pubescence covering the rhizome is black-brown, likes to grow in the shade or partial shade, and can tolerate dryness indoors.
For more details about the features of growing davallia at home and caring for it, see this video:
