Fittonia: home care, cultivation and reproduction

Fittonia, whose home care is simple enough, is a vivid representative of the tropical flora native to South America. The leaf plates of the culture, which are the most decorative, are covered with openwork mesh of white, yellow or purple-red tones. Once having seen this extraordinary plant, it is hard to resist the acquisition of it in your collection.

Fittonia: cultivation features

Previously, it was believed that it was rather difficult to cultivate a tropical representative in an apartment environment due to its need for an increased level of humidity. However, getting to know the flower closer, the florist understands that growing Fittonia is not difficult: at present, many hybrids adapted to the dry air of city apartments have been bred.

The most popular among them are:

• Fittonia Mix - A view, the distinguishing feature of which is the planting of several varieties together, is also distinguished by a variety of color palette. Thanks to the bright pattern on the sheets, it is an adornment of any windowsill.
• Fittonia Vershaffelt - undersized (up to 25 cm in height) representative of the tropical forests of Central America with strongly branching, creeping shoots. The stems are covered with large beautiful leafy plates of dark green color with white, pink and red veins.
• Fittonia Skeleton - A beautiful and elegant plant with creeping shoots, covered with small matte leaves with a velvety surface.The pattern of leaf plates intensely painted in olive color is represented by a dense mesh of red veins.
• Fittonia White Anna - The breeding hybrid is distinguished by a white pattern on leaf blades, the rim of which is shaded by a darker color in comparison with the main tone.

Home Care

When growing Fittonia in an apartment environment, one should not forget that the tropical representative negatively perceives extremes. If they are not allowed, the implementation of care measures will not take much time from the grower.

Lighting and location

Fittonia loves well-lit rooms. However, a pot with an exotic plant should not be placed on the windowsills of the south direction: exposure to direct sunlight can lead to the death of the flower. The best option would be the location on the windows on the western and eastern sides of the house, which provide a large amount of diffused light and sufficient shade in the midday heat.

Important! The deficit of light negatively affects the leaf blades of Fittonia, which lose their decorative effect. To avoid this situation, you should extend the daylight hours in the winter season using phytolamps.

Ground and pot requirements

Due to the surface root system of Fittonia, small but wide tanks with a good drainage layer are used for proper cultivation. A soil mixture is poured over the broken brick drainage, which includes sheet soil, peat and sand in a ratio of 3: 1: 1.

Watering a plant

In the phase of active growth, the flower is systematically and abundantly watered with warm, standing water. With the advent of colder weather, humidification is gradually reduced. However, overdrying of the soil is not allowed: even a one-time drying of the rhizome leads to the discharge of leaves, providing a decorative flower. Moisture evaporates through the leaf plates, so the substrate in the pot should be slightly moist all the time.

Caution! Water stagnation is not allowed: an excess of moisture causes the rotting of the rhizome of Fittonia.

Humidity

A plant native to the tropics needs a high level of humidity.

To ensure this requirement is carried out:

• daily spraying of the flower with settled water throughout the year, and with severe dry air - twice a day;
• placing the pot in a pan with expanded clay or pebbles.

Fertilizer application

From mid-spring to mid-autumn, when active vegetation is observed, Fittonia is fed twice a month with liquid complex mineral fertilizers. The application rate is reduced by half from that indicated on the package: the plant is highly sensitive to an overabundance of nutrients.

It is interesting:fittonia mix at home

Trimming

Systematic pinching at ¼ length stimulates the shoots to branch, which gives the bush even more decorative. After 3-4 years fittonia requires rejuvenation. The exact time is determined by exposing the bottom of the central shoot. At the same time, the most elongated shoots are cut off, which are rooted in moist sand. After pruning, the plant forms new side shoots.

Attention! It is recommended to cut off the flowers of Fittonia: the formation of flowers that do not represent decorative value takes a lot of energy from the plant and makes it vulnerable to diseases and pests.

How to transplant?

The rapid growth of Fittonia necessitates its annual transplantation. First of all, this requirement applies to young specimens, while for adults it is permissible to carry out the procedure with an interval of 2-3 years.

Pest and Disease Control

Fittonia is a plant resistant to diseases and pests.

However, sometimes the following harmful insects are noted on the culture:

• Shield - the pest populates the surface of leaf blades and shoots, sucking out the cell sap, which leads to loss of color by the leaves and subsequent drying. To combat in the early stages, a soap solution is used, and with a significant population - an insecticidal preparation.
• Spider mite - the pest forms whitish spots and barely noticeable cobwebs on the leaves. Spraying the plant with an insecticide solution will get rid of the tick.
• Mealybug - the appearance of dirty white lumps signals the infection of a flower with a worm, in the fight against which daily spraying of Fittonia with a soap-alcohol solution will help.

Fittonia breeding

The flower propagates in several vegetative ways: layering, cuttings and dividing the bush. The simplest and most productive are the last two.

Cuttings

The tops of shoots of 5-8 cm with two pairs of true leaves, obtained as a result of pruning, are rooted in water or moistened sand as follows:

• Cuttings are placed in dishes with water 1 cm thick or with sand, after which they are covered with polyethylene or glass.
• At a temperature of 23 to 27 ° C, the cuttings are ventilated every 5 days, and their leaves are sprayed.
• After 1.5-2 months, roots form.

Bush division

When transplanting, a division of the bush is carried out. However, it is often not recommended to resort to such a procedure because of the fragility of the root system of the plant.

The propagation method is carried out according to the following scheme:

• The roots are washed under running water.
• Rhizome is placed in a weak pink solution of potassium permanganate for 10-15 minutes.
• The division is carried out with a sharp sterile blade into equal parts so that each has from two developed shoots.

Common mistakes when growing

Novice gardeners sometimes face the following problems:

• The yellowing tips of the leaf blades, turning brown, which dry out over time, are caused by low humidity levels.
• Loss of leaves tone, twisting along the central vein - indicates too rare moisture.
• Blanching, and then yellowing of the leaves from the tips - lack or excess of nutrients in the substrate.
• Stretching the shoots, accompanied by fading leaves and increasing the distance between them - the flower is deficient in lighting.
• The appearance of bright spots on the leaf plates, the dullness of the pattern and the gradual wrinkling of the leaf - the culture is exposed to direct sunlight.
• Rotting shoots at the base - excessive watering or low temperature in the room.
• Leaf discharge - lack of additional nutrition or overdrying of the soil, except when the plant discards only the lower leaves, then this is a natural process.

Thus, adhering to the simple rules of maintaining the culture, the florist will be able to decorate his home with exotic plants with beautiful leaves, of which the Fittonia red looks especially unusual.