garden-flowers.net

For greenhouse or house decoration, or for supplying florists with “green,” ferns, & Adiantums in particular, are very useful. While many species are easiest propagated by the division of the plants, others are commonly grown from spores, which should be sown at once, even though the spores from some species can be kept for some time.

They should be sown either in pans or pots, or on beds, using garden loam, over which ½ an inch of fine sphagnum should be placed. Moisten this thoroughly & scatter the spores evenly over it, & after sprinkling cover with glass. Right. Water only when they show they are dry. Keep covered until the seedlings have started. It will be best to prick out the young seedlings into flats, from which they should later be transferred to pots.

Pot them in soil one-half leaf mold & the remainder of loam & sand. For propagating on a large scale, a box covered with a glass sash, of suitable size, will answer. The seed bed can be prepared upon the bench itself… Ferns for dwellings should be grown at 55 to 60 degrees, as they will then be firm & well hardened, & will thrive far better than soft, spindling plants, in the dry atmosphere of the living room. For small fern pans, two or three plants will be enough. Fern pans can be filled to advantage by using some erect growing kind in the center, with fine Adiantums, Selaginellas or similar kinds, around it.

Many varieties are readily increased by dividing the crowns. There is more. There is more. To increase them rapidly, they should be bedded out where they can be kept well moistened at a temperature of 60 to sixty-five degrees. In dividing & transferring to pots, it is hardly desirable to make a very fine division, as, even though more plants can be obtained, they will be slower in starting & less satisfactory. During the spring & early summer, the young plants should be kept in a cool 8) house or in a frame, where they can be properly shaded & watered.

If to be used for cutting, the best results can be easily obtained if the plants are bedded out. This should be done early in August, in order that the plants may have time to develop & harden off. The beds should contain from four to five inches of compost, consisting of two parts pasture sods & one part each of sand & rotten manure. For most ferns a temperature of 60 to sixty-five degrees is desirable, & the stove ferns are benefited if it is slightly higher, even though some of the greenhouse species do well if it is considerably lower.

For the florist’s use, in addition to the well-known Adiantum cuneatum & gracillimum, such others as A. eleyans, A. Capillus-Voneris, A. continuum & A. c. latum, A. St. Catherina & A. decorum will be useful. Adiantum Farleyense is among the best of the Adiantums for decorative purposes, but except for very elaborate cut-flower work, it will be less useful than some of the more delicate sorts. There is more. There is more. The Pteris serrulata & P. s. cristata, & other forms that are readily grown, are also desirable for planting out, either on or under the benches, while Pteris tremula, & its variegated form, P. aryyrea, & P. cretica alba lineate should not actually be neglected.

When ferns are shifted, or planted out, they should be shaded from the blight sun for many days, & the foliage should be frequently syringed. If to be used for cutting, after they have made their growth, the shading should be taken off, & abundant ventilation should be given, in order that the fronds may harden off, & thus stand up longer when used. The florist will find specimen plants, & baskets & pans of ferns useful in decorating his house, as well as for outside work. If well grown & of well selected kinds, the visitor will be attracted to them, & they will have a ready sale.

For more information on this topic, go straight to http://GreenHouse.FunHowToBooks.com