Bird's Nest Fern: A Detailed Guide to Planting Methods and Care Techniques

Propagation Techniques

Bird's nest fern can be propagated by spores and by division.

Spore Propagation

1. Sowing spores: In spring, first mix fine sand and humus soil evenly, sterilize at high temperature, put into a sowing pot and press flat, evenly scatter mature spores on the pot soil, then immerse the whole pot in shallow water, using osmosis to make the pot soil fully moist, cover with glass to retain moisture, and place it in a warm, moist and shady place; the spores can germinate in 7 to 10 days, and after about 1 month, green prothallia will grow; after 3 months, when several true leaves have grown, they can be potted for cultivation.

2. Division: Generally carried out in mid-to-late April; select robustly growing plants, cut their rhizomes together with leaves and root clumps into several pieces, or pull off small side-grown plantlets, cut off 1/2 of the leaves, pot them separately, cover with a small amount of leaf mold soil, and create a small environment that is moist, ventilated and well-drained for them; keep the ambient temperature at around 25°C, and the survival rate is relatively high; note that the pot soil must not be too wet, so as to avoid root rot. Division is the most effective propagation method for flower lovers.

3. Tissue culture: For productive large-scale propagation, its terminal short stems, young leaves or spores, etc. can be used as explants for rapid propagation through tissue culture, and a large number of commercial seedlings of uniform specifications can be cultivated in a short time.

Division Propagation

When the plant grows larger, small branches often appear; in late spring and early summer, before new buds grow, use a sharp knife to slowly cut off the parts of the plant that need to be separated, and then plant them separately. Bird's nest fern produces relatively few branches, so the common method of separating daughter plants is seldom used for division; usually, a robustly growing plant is cut from the base into 2-4 pieces in late spring, and the leaves are shortened by 1/3-1/2, so that each piece has some leaves and rhizome, and then each is potted separately to become a new plant; after potting, place it in a semi-shaded place with a temperature above 20 degrees and relatively high air humidity for care, so that the wound heals as soon as possible. The cultivation substrate in the pot should be slightly moist, not too wet, otherwise it is prone to rot. After new leaves grow, it can gradually recover its original shape.

Planting Preparation

1. Use imported peat of 5-40 mm specification that is loose and has good drainage and aeration; crush the peat and mix evenly with water (standard for adding water: after mixing with water, tightly squeeze a handful of peat, and water seeps out from between the fingers), then plant in cups. A 9 cm pot uses about 250 ml of peat per pot, and one package of 300 L imported peat can fill about 1200 cups.

2. Seedling selection: Choose high-quality seedlings from professional production, with a seedling height of 5-9 cm and a crown width of 9-12 cm, free of pests and diseases, and free of dead leaves and yellow leaves.

3. Potting: Small potted plants are generally planted in pots with a caliber of 9 cm; when planting, first place about 2 cm of substrate at the bottom of the cup, then move the screened seedlings into the cup; small seedlings should not be planted too deep, and it is appropriate to keep them level with the base of the plant; the substrate should be moderately firm, filled to 9/10 of the cup, 1 plant/pot.

Key Management Points

1. Temperature: Its optimum growth temperature is 16°C to 27°C, of which March to October is 22°C to 27°C, and October to the following March is 16°C to 22°C. In summer, when the temperature exceeds 30°C, measures such as building a shed for shade and spraying water around the bird's nest fern to cool and increase humidity should be taken, so that it can continue to maintain vigorous growth. Whether for household potting or productive cultivation, in winter it is best to maintain a greenhouse temperature above 15°C so that it can continue to grow; when conditions are not available, at least maintain a greenhouse temperature not lower than 5°C; if the temperature is too low, it is easy to cause its leaf margins to turn brown, and it may even cause plant death due to cold damage.

2. Light: The native environment of bird's nest fern is in humid jungles, mostly epiphytic, and it can grow normally with only a small amount of scattered light, so potted plants can be kept year-round in a bright indoor place for care. If placed outdoors under tree shade or in a greenhouse for a short period in spring and autumn, it is more conducive to its growth and can increase the gloss of the leaf surface. Potted bird's nest fern must never be exposed to scorching sun, otherwise the plant will show abnormal phenomena such as deteriorated yellowing leaf color, scorched leaf surface, and withered and burnt leaf margins, reducing its ornamental value; in summer, it should be placed under a shade shed with more than 70% shading, which is relatively beneficial to its growth. In winter, in the greenhouse, appropriate light should be given, and artificial supplemental light should be provided in overly dark places.

3. Water: Potted bird's nest fern requires not only moist pot soil, but also relatively high relative air humidity. During the growing season, watering should be sufficient; especially in summer, in addition to frequently watering the cultivation substrate thoroughly, the leaf surface must also be rinsed 2 to 3 times a day, and at the same time water should be sprinkled on the surrounding ground to increase humidity, maintaining relatively high air humidity in the local environment, which can both increase the gloss of the leaf surface and is very beneficial to the germination of spore leaves; if the pot soil lacks water or the air is relatively dry, it is easy to cause dry and curled leaf margins. When the temperature is relatively low in winter, it is better to keep the pot soil moist; spray more water and water less, so as to avoid root rot caused by excessive water in the pot soil under low temperature conditions. Because its leaves are leathery, they can prevent water evaporation.

4. Soil: The potting substrate can be mainly leaf mold soil or peat soil, vermiculite, etc., mixed with a small amount of river sand, or it can also be made by evenly mixing fern roots, crushed bark, moss or crushed brick particles with a small amount of humus soil. Where conditions permit, it is best to use porous flower pots or porous plastic baskets as containers, place 1/3 crushed brick particles at the bottom of the pot, add fern roots, bark blocks, moss, leaf mold soil, etc. on top, and then plant the roots of the bird's nest fern into it; in this way, the growth will be more vigorous. For potted bird's nest fern, the pot can be changed once every 2 years; take it out of the flower pot, shake off the old soil, cut off some residual roots and withered yellow leaves, plant the separated daughter plants separately, and after replacing the cultivation substrate for the old plant, plant it in a slightly larger pot. In addition, in spring each year, adding a little crushed lime to the pot is beneficial to the growth and development of its side-grown daughter plants.

5. Fertilizer: The special morphology and structure of bird's nest fern are conducive to its absorption of water and nutrients. Its rhizome is short and densely covered with scales, and produces large clumps of spongy fibrous roots that can absorb more water. The leaves are radially arranged at the top of the rhizome, forming a bird's nest shape or a hollow funnel shape; in its native environment, it can collect fallen leaves, bird droppings and rainwater in its nest, and these substances are converted into humus, which can serve as an important part of its own nutrient source. For potted bird's nest fern, during its vigorous growth season, it is advisable to apply a thin fertilizer with balanced nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium once every half month, which can promote it to continuously grow a large number of new leaves; if the plant lacks fertilizer, the leaf margins will also turn brown. When the summer temperature is above 32°C, or the winter greenhouse temperature is below 15°C, all forms of topdressing should be stopped.

1. Disease - anthracnose: In environments with high temperature and high humidity and poor ventilation, leaves are susceptible to anthracnose, and its lesions are brown, with obvious concentric rings in the later stage.

Control method: In the early stage of the disease, evenly spray with 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder 600-fold solution, or 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder 1000-fold solution, or 10% difenoconazole water-dispersible granules 2500-fold solution, once every 10 days, for 3 to 4 consecutive times. In addition, attention should also be paid to preventing sunscald and cold damage.

2. Pest - nematodes: Nematodes damage bird's nest fern and can cause brown reticulate spots on the leaves.

Control method: Carbofuran or fenamiphos granules can be spread on the surface of the pot soil, and the insecticidal effect is relatively good.