Selaginella - care at home. House plant of Selaginella

Selaginella - this plant, the place of growth of which are tropical zones. It also loves subtropics. That is why good growth requires sufficient moisture and heat.

Selaginella is one of the oldest groups of flora - to the plains. These plants, as a rule, are low, and basically they cover the territory of their growth with a green carpet.

The flower of Selaginella is most often grown in florariums, bottled gardens and greenhouses. Only there you can provide the necessary level of humidity. However, you can take care of this plant in room conditions.

Kinds

Among the great variety is the plant, which is the most popular. This is Selaginella Martensa. This species has long (up to thirty centimeters) erect stems, which age with age. Outwardly, the branches of this plant are similar to the fern. There are also varieties of Selaginella Martens. The tips of the leaves of such plants have a silvery-white color.

There is also a legless legless Selaginella. This plant has short creeping stems and light green leaves.

The bush plant is Selaginella Villenova. Truly unique is another species. This selaginella is scaly-leaved. Her leaves, having a length of up to ten centimeters, with a decrease in moisture curl in a ball. After watering, they straighten.

Swiss Selaginella has low stems, on which are located small leaves. On the windowsill, you can grow any of these species. Preference is given to the plant you like.

General care rules

The house plant of Selaginella needs a certain thermal regime. To do this, it is sufficient to keep the temperature in the room where it is located, from 15 to 21 degrees. There are some types of plants for which the air should be colder. They like to grow at a temperature of ten to thirteen degrees. Indoor flower of Selaginella signals a too high temperature for him, darkening of leaflets, as well as their death. In order to save the plant, try to reduce the indicated value by about one to two degrees.

A tropical plant is Selaginella. Care at home in this regard should be in abundant watering.

Direct sunlight does not like neither tropical nor northern Selaginella. Care at home should consist of installing flowerpots in darkened places. However, the plant may not have enough light at this time. This is indicated by an excessively extended stem. In this case, it is recommended to increase the lighting a little.
From the stems of the plant, dry leaves should be regularly removed. Care must be taken in this regard. If the leaves are only wrinkled, then this can simply indicate insufficient moisture in the flowerpot.

Watering

The plant needs moisture all year round. Water it is necessary even when the top layer of the soil begins to dry out. This is important not to miss. If, after all, the ground has dried up, then the pot with the flower should be urgently put in a basin of water for several hours. It is recommended to water the selaginella through a pallet. In this case, the earth itself will absorb the necessary amount of moisture. Water should be definitely settled and have room temperature.

Humidity of air within sixty percent - these are the conditions that loves selaginella. Care at home means spraying the plant with warm and soft water. It is desirable to put a pot of selaginella on a pallet with moistened peat or claydite. This will also help to create the necessary humidity value.

Transfer

As they grow, the roots of the plant fill the entire volume of the pot. This is why one or two times a year the Selaginella needs a transplant. Pots must be chosen small, but wide. This is due to the fact that the root system of the plant is shallow.

The soil filled with pots must be loose and moisture-consuming. It is desirable that it consisted of equal parts of fibrous peat and leaf earth, as well as sand.

Reproduction

Two methods can be used to obtain new shoots. At the first of them the bush should be separated from the roots. For planting you will need pots with peat. Parts of the rhizome length of about five centimeters, which have shoots, are planted in 5 pieces in a single pot. The earth in the pot should be well moistened. It is necessary to ensure that the soil is always moist. During the first week, pots should be covered with cellophane. The temperature in the room during this period is maintained at around twenty degrees. The first shoots will begin to appear after a month.

At the second variant reproduction is made by stalk cuttings. Very rarely some professionals use spores located on the underside of leaves. In this case, a box with peat is prepared in advance. Spores are scattered on the surface of the soil. The box is covered with a plastic film and waiting for the shoots.

What kind of fertilizer does Selaginella like?

Care at home requires the obligatory top dressing of the plant. From the period that begins in March and lasts until early September, complex fertilizer is recommended for selaginella . They need to feed the plant once for two weeks. You can buy fertilizer for deciduous ornamental plants. In this case, the dosage should be reduced by half. Loves selaginella and nitrogenous fertilizers. They feed the plant every month for a year. The recommended dose should also be halved.

Diseases

Pests do not attack the plant particularly. Only with very dry air spider mite can hit him. Selaginella care while it is too complicated does not require. To eliminate the parasite, the plant should be treated with a soap solution.

Problems in growing Selaginella

If the plant develops poorly, and its stems are stretched and the leaves turn pale, this may mean that there are not enough nutrients in the soil. Another reason for this condition may be a lack of sunlight. And under the influence of direct sun, the ends of the stems dry and gradually become brown. Begin to curl and die off the leaves at an elevated temperature in the room.