Maidenhair ferns are ancient plants. In that sense, the days of maidenhair ferns - which happened about 80 years-an - a long time ago. But until now, there are many people who are interested in caring for these plants. Maybe maidenhair ferns still preferred because green leaves can be soothing the eyes and the atmosphere.

However, it is not easy to take care of maidenhair ferns. These plants include ornamental plants are fussy maintenance. But all this fuss is going to paid off, as maidenhair ferns perfectly with the elegance expanded green leaves.

One of the main causes of failure in planting maidenhair ferns is the choice of media used. If not exactly maidenhair ferns growth will be hampered, even impossible not to die. This is because the root of maidenhair ferns form a soft fibrous roots. Tender roots are very sensitive to conditions too acidic, too dry or too moist.

Good Media
What kind of a good planting medium for maidenhair ferns? The characteristics of good media is the texture axis / crumbs, and the color is blackish-like compost. If measured with litmus paper, in humid conditions, the degree of acid (pH) reaches 6-7. If held, the media is good it will feel soft like a sponge, and if released will expand again as before held.

Raw material greatly affect the quality of maidenhair ferns growing media. Good media is usually made from chopped stems of ferns, humus from plants, or topsoil from bamboo leaves.

To increase fertility, the media can be added fertilizer. Based on the experience of several penghobi, a good fertilizer is manure from rabbits or sheep dung. If you add manure, make sure that the fertilizer used is completely “mature”. Mature here means the manure had been stored for more than 1 month (ideally stored for 3-6 months) so fermentation process is completely perfect. It could also be added to the mountain land (usually sold in the merchant plants with the name of “hollow earth”), rice husk (instead of sand, to obtain the texture axis / crumbs) and dolomite lime (to raise pH, if necessary).

Bad Media
Bad media, usually caused by an error compositiotn mixed. Here is an example of bad media following planting strategies for addressing them.

1. Planting Media too densely

Media color is not black. Usually occurs because the composition of the clay too much. Characteristic, if not soft and crushed if not re-inflate released. Such media can lead to root rot because it binds water so much that the media is too moist conditions for the roots of maidenhair ferns.

To fix it add sand / husk rice, humus, compost, and manure. Before mixed, the material was sifted first. Comparison mixture is 6 parts humus / compost, 2 parts manure, and 1 part padir / rice husk. Furthermore, this mix of media that will be corrected, with a ratio of 1 part mix and 1 part of the media.

2. Planting Media too axle / crumbs

Media like this has the potential to cause plant drought maidenhair ferns. Because, with grains that do not bind to each other and easily dispersed, water can not be stored properly.

Fix is to increase the density but not too dense. Mix the soil and manure dent in the ratio 1:1. Further into the media mix in the ratio of 1 part of medium and 1 part mixture.

3. Planting media not yet “ripe”

This kind of planting medium due to the material that had not yet finished fermentation. How to test it is to hold and smell. If it feels hot and the smell was not pleasant, it was a sign the media have not quite ripe.

Easy to handle, brown the media used. Way, insert the media into a sack and store in a cool place for about a month. Do not forget to punch the bag as a means of entry of air to the fermentation process can take place perfectly.

4. Planting Media too acidic

If the media is too acidic (measured with litmus paper gives the figure below pH 6.0) inhibited the growth of maidenhair ferns can even die because of poisoning elements Fe, Mg, and Al.

To reduce the acidity of the media, add dolomite lime. However, this addition should not at once but bit by bit, so that the plants are not surprised by the sudden change in pH. Ideally, the increase amounted to 0.5 - 1.0 per week. Raising the pH of these actions can be repeated every week to obtain the ideal level of acidity / neutral (near pH 6.2). To raise the pH of 0.5 - 1.0 to 2 tablespoons dolomite lime every 3 kg of media.

By knowing where the media is good and what is bad, necessarily failures in planting maidenhair ferns can be avoided.

Tags : garden design, maidenhair ferns, planting media