1. Plant business card:
| scientific name | Polypodiopsida |
| Family | Equisetaceae |
| native state | 230 species in New Zealand, symbolized by ferns , distributed all over the country (it is the national emblem of New Zealand and appears on its passport)
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| Breeding method | Reproduction by spores |
| main value | 1. It can remove some chemical pollutants from the atmosphere ( harmful chemicals include carbon dioxide, ammonia, benzene, formaldehyde, trichlorethylene, toluene, octane, terpenes ); 2. It has an important input to the nitrogen nutrition of rice fields; 3. , cutting leaves and indoor planting; 4, can remove heavy metals from soil, especially arsenic |
| toxicity | non-toxic |
| Production and sales | Available all year round |
2. Morphological characteristics of Boston fern :
Leaves: Leaves are 50-250 cm (20-98 inches) long and 6-15 cm (2.4-5.9 inches) wide, with alternating pinnae (small “leaflets” on either side of the midrib), each pinna being 2- 8 cm (0.79-3.15 inches) long
3. Indoor care of Boston fern :
| Boston fern characteristics | maintenance points | |
| Temperature | Cannot tolerate extreme heat or cold, the optimum temperature for growth is 18～ 23 ℃ | Heating in winter, cooling in summer |
| watering | 1. Especially fond of humidity, the suitable growth air humidity is > 80%
2. Avoid waterlogging at the root |
Provide as much humidity as possible and monitor the soil carefully to ensure the plants stay moist at all times. When the relative humidity drops below about 80%, it may be necessary to mist the plants or you can place the plants on pebble trays filled with water, as long as the pots are not in standing water. |
| illumination | Sunny
Avoid direct light, like scattered light |
Place Boston ferns indoors in bright, indirect sunlight, away from drafty doors and heating vents. |
| The effects of insufficient light | Too much shade can cause sparse foliage to appear dull, and too much sun can burn leaves. For this reason, Boston ferns are good choices for porch plants that receive filtered sunlight in the morning and afternoon shade. | |
| ventilation | happy flow of fresh air | Place it in a well- ventilated area indoors . During the high humidity period in summer, artificial ventilation can be used to prevent heatstroke and avoid infection by diseases and insect pests. |
| Nutrition | like thin fat | For outdoor ferns, make sure to amend the soil annually with 1 inch of compost and mulch to maintain good growing conditions. Indoor ferns should be fed once a month in spring and summer with a 20-10-20 liquid houseplant fertilizer at half strength. Fertilization is not required during late fall and winter months. |
| prune | Pruning ferns is not a big deal | Just remove dead leaves as needed to keep the plant looking attractive. |
| change basin | Spring is the ideal time to repot
New pots need to have good drainage, be wide but not too tall |
When changing the pot, you can remove the loose soil at the bottom. After putting it into the new pot, you can use chopsticks to poke the inner edge of the pot back and forth, so that the newly put soil can be better combined with the pot
Ferns like loamy soil rich in organic matter that drains well. It is often recommended to add compost and peat to outdoor gardens before planting. For potted Boston ferns, use a peaty potting mix with added perlite for increased drainage. Poorly drained soil can lead to root rot that will eventually kill the plant. |
4. Best maintenance scenario recommendation:
Too much shade can cause sparse foliage to appear dull, and too much sun can burn leaves.
Scenario 1 : Indoor hoisting (it is recommended to provide a supplementary light)
Recommended products: small umbrella lights, basin lights
Recommended reason: The natural light during hoisting is usually blocked by the roof, and it needs to be supplemented by plant fill light
Scenario 2: living room, bedroom corner
Recommended products: Big Umbrella Light, Floor Triple Head Light (recommended to provide fill light scene)
Reason for recommendation: The leaves of ferns will stretch open, so they are generally placed in the corner without affecting people’s indoor activities. At the same time, the fill light placed in the corner can serve as a floor lamp as much as possible, while taking into account the plant fill light and indoor ambient light. , and then choose large umbrella lamps with relatively large wattages and floor three-head lamps
5. Problems encountered by customers who planted Boston fern :
1. Root rot: excessive watering; 2. Gray leaves: lack of moisture
How to avoid it: Water should be in between dry and wet or you can place the plant on a pebble tray filled with water, as long as the pot is not in standing water .
3. Weak leaves (leaves become long and drooping): Not getting enough light:
How to Avoid: Provide plenty of light, at least 2 hours a day
Cause analysis: Low light is one of the reasons for the leaves to become long and drooping. Plants grow autotrophically and need to produce substances through photosynthesis to provide substances and energy for their own growth and development. Insufficient light leads to weakened photosynthesis, and the leaves cannot produce sufficient substances to provide material and energy support for their own growth and growth. If they are in a state of “starvation” for a long time, the leaves will grow unhealthy and lack vitality. In a weak light environment, the leaves adopt the strategy of growing and widening the leaves to increase the leaf area, or the strategy of increasing and growing the leaves to get as close to the light source as possible, so as to try to obtain more light energy. Because weak light limits the production of photosynthetic products, in the case of insufficient material supply, plants can only thin the thickness of the leaves, so as to obtain an increase in leaf area, heighten or growth of leaves, resulting in leaves that are too thin to support The leaves are tall and straight, showing the phenomenon of long and drooping leaves, which is an unhealthy growth phenomenon. For ferns in a long-term low-light environment, when the photosynthetic substances produced by themselves are just equal to the substances consumed by their own respiration, the ferns stop growing and appear not to grow; when the light continues to weaken, their production If the photosynthetic material is less than the material consumed by its respiration, the fern will gradually turn yellow, wither and die.
Management countermeasures: In order to avoid the phenomenon that the leaves become long and drooping, the fern should be placed in a place with sufficient natural scattered light indoors (it is recommended to provide a scene map of supplementary light); in the case where it is difficult to obtain sufficient natural light, it is recommended to use In the way of supplementary light, the plant lights create a suitable and uniform light environment for the ferns in situ (it is recommended to provide a scene map of the supplementary light). If the leaves are already unhealthy, you can move the fern to a place with strong scattered light indoors; if it is inconvenient or impossible to move, it is recommended to install plant lights in place to supplement the light (it is recommended to provide a scene map of the supplement light ), the leaves will slowly improve, the leaves will increase and grow healthily .
4. Browning of leaves: Too much sunlight can scorch Boston fern and turn leaf tips brown.
How to avoid it: Avoid placing it in direct sunlight, place it next to a window indoors, or use plant lights instead
Cause analysis: high temperature and strong light will burn the leaves, resulting in partial or complete necrosis of the leaves.
Management Strategies: Ferns should be placed indoors in a well-ventilated area with plenty of diffused light. If you can’t find a place with good diffused light and good ventilation indoors, it is recommended to use plant lights to supplement the light and use fans for intermittent forced ventilation (it is recommended to provide a scene map of the supplementary light).
Post time: Jan-16-2023