Fern davallia: home care

At home, ferns from the davallium family are often grown. Plants require a not complicated, however, special approach, the basic principles of which are described below.

Botanical description of the plant

Perennial plant up to 50 cm high native to the tropical parts of Asia. A characteristic feature of these ferns is shaggy roots that hang from the container.

Important! The botanical name is given in honor of the 18th century botanist E. Davall, and due to the type of roots, fern is popularly known as “squirrel legs”, “hare legs” or “deer leg”.

The main features of davallia are presented in the table:

Root systemsuperficial, with thick pubescent roots
Stemshort or medium
Leaf shapefinely comminuted, often triangular
Leaf colorfrom light to dark green

The diameter of the roots can reach 15 mm, and some specimens reach a length of up to 90 cm. Davallia grow quickly and are usually grown as an ampelous plant at home. That is how their exotic roots are most noticeable.

Popular views

The family includes about 40 species, however, in indoor floriculture you can often find such plants:

  • Canarian davallia has thick straight roots up to 15 cm long, and its petioles and leaf blades grow up to 30 cm. An evergreen fern with 3-4 cirrus leaf blades is an epiphyte, but in some cases it can live on the soil surface (lithophyte);

  • dense davallia has a wide-triangular bicopular leaf plate, whose length can reach 40 cm. General view of the plant is more thickened than that of the Canary variety;

  • bubble davallia comes from China and Japan and is small in size: its height is 15–20 cm. The type of foliage coincides with dense davalia.

Comfortable conditions and proper care

Being a tropical plant, davallia requires compliance with a number of conditions and, when fulfilled, practically does not require additional care.

Lighting

A fern needs a bright place, protected from direct sunlight. Contact with the sun can cause yellowing of the leaves. The window sill of the window facing the east side may be the best place.

In case of slight shading, growth retardation and loss of decorative qualities are possible. The plant responds positively to additional lighting with a fluorescent lamp.

Temperature

Suitable summer temperatures range from + 18 ° C to + 22 ° C. For the Canary variety in winter, it is necessary to provide no more than + 18 ° C. Critical to all ferns is considered a temperature of + 13 ° C, when they begin to drop leaves.

Davallia does not like cold air and should stand away from the draft.

Did you know? The “leaf” of ferns is actually a system of branches that are located on the same plane and is called a “plane branch”, “waya” or “pre-run”.

Air humidity

High ambient humidity is required, which ferns are used to in their natural environment. A moisture content of 55-60% is desirable, which is supported by frequent spraying and adding wet expanded clay or peat to the pallet. For spraying use the smallest nozzle and only warm, standing water.

You can also install a “foggy” installation or another air humidifier in the room.

Watering

Davallia must be moistened often, at the first sign of drying the topsoil. Water for irrigation should be settled and not cold. The pot is watered with a narrow-spout watering can or the roots are lowered into the pan for 15–20 minutes.

Top dressing

The plant is fed in the period from May to August with an interval of 2 weeks. For top dressing, the dosage of the mixture for decorative and deciduous crops specified by the manufacturer is reduced by 2 times. In the autumn-winter period, the introduction of additional substances is not used.

Transfer

The plant does not require pruning. Davallia is transplanted if she gets cramped in her container, approximately every 2 years, in early spring. Hanging baskets or wide pots are recommended.

It will be useful for you to find out how to correctly and when to replant indoor plants, how and what to feed indoor plants at home.

Drainage is placed at the bottom, then part of the plant roots is placed and sprinkled with a substrate for orchids or bromeliads. The soil mixture should contain sphagnum, peat, pieces of pine bark and charcoal.

Breeding

In their natural habitat, ferns reproduce by spores that germinate in moist tropical soil. This method is not effective for a greenhouse or home collection. A new plant is easier to obtain by dividing the root into parts.

Division

The division is carried out in April. For this, the rhizome must be divided into parts so that 2 leaves are left on each of them. Such a seedling is laid on the surface of the substrate and crushed with expanded clay.

It is necessary to maintain a high level of humidity, for which it is recommended to slightly cover the container with a bag after spraying. After 2 months, the plant should take root.

Disputes

The ripened spores are shaken off and dried, and then in May they are poured onto the wet surface of peat or moss.

Important! Spores can cause an allergic reaction!

For disinfection, sphagnum must be disinfected by steaming or calcining. The sowing container is closed with a lid or tightened with a film. Spores germinate at temperatures from + 20 ° C to + 25 ° C. Sprouts are transplanted when they reach a height of 5 cm.

Growing difficulties

Subject to the basic growing conditions, davallia does not cause much trouble. Possible difficulties are most often associated with violation of the rules of care.

Disease

Fern can affect such diseases:

  • gray rot and other fungi - are the result of overflow and lower temperatures;
  • bacterial spotting - it is treated by cutting out the diseased part with dusting of the cut with ash.

Important! It is not recommended to transplant davallia into ordinary plastic pots.

Pests

Pests can attack the plant:

  • mealybug;
  • whitefly;
  • scale insects;
  • spider mite.
Fight infection should be with the help of special insecticides.

Davallia is an original indoor plant that will decorate any interior. Presenting certain environmental requirements, the fern is quite easy to care for and suitable even for beginner growers.

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