multiplication
I would like to increase stock of a couple of different ferns I have , so I ’m having a go at propagating them . The operation is the same for all fern so I ’m going to focus this post on the hart ’s knife fern , orAsplenium scolopendrium . I have a little clump of it that I could divide but I hope to get a lot more by propagating using spore . I ’ve never try this before so I ’m learning as I go .
fern evolve a dissimilar method acting of reproduction to other plants . They do n’t produce seeds , producing instead spore which go through an average stage before growing into baby fern . It ’s analagous to reproduction by seed , but subtly unlike and needs different treatment as a result .
First job is to collect the spores . In most ferns , these can be found on the reverse of the frond .
The brown blotch or stripes in this case are the spore containers . I cut a few fronds from the parent fern and leave them for a couple of days in the shed where it is wry , warm and out of the malarky . I just laid them spore - side down on clear white newspaper .
After a few days , the spore have dropped off the frond , leave a phantasm on the report , which is really the teeny fern spores .
I ’m so absurdy pleased by this stage that I could happily halt here . However , I press on . I collected the spore by carefully fold the paper and rain cats and dogs the spores into a dry envelope .
The intermediate stages of fern reproductive memory are apparently super sensitive to contaminants so it ’s radical significant to be clean when “ sowing ” the spore . I take after a commonly recommended technique that ensure the pot and the compost are exhaustively sterile .
With a locoweed of sassy compost standing by , boil a full kettle . Fold a sporting sheet of kitchen roll / towel , and place on top of the compost in the pot . The kitchen curlicue is to stop the compost spattering all over the place in the next step .
When the body of water is boiling , rain buckets slowly over the kitchen roll until the timpani is empty .
This may take a fiddling while , and for obvious reasons I did this over a sink . Repeat this twice , for a total of three times . take away the pad of kitchen roll and cover the lot now with some cling film or down in a sealable bag , to forestall any contiminants entering the newly infertile slew . I ’ve hear the same outcome can be achieved by microwave the mess of compost for a instant or two on gamey power . I could n’t quite bring myself to do that .
When the compost had all cooled I headed off to the shed to “ sow ” the spores . I ’m not sure what the appropriate verb is . I ’ll utilize sow . hit the clingstone - film / start the bag , and mildly and evenly sprinkle the spore ( maybe the correct verb is sprinkle ! ) over the Earth’s surface of the sterile compost .
I popped the stack back in its plastic udder and leave it in the heated judiciary .
The first thing to seem should be something called aprothalluswhich appear a little like hepatic , similar sort of organism in fact . These are not baby ferns , but are the average microscope stage necessary to make a babe fern . Theprothallihave male and distaff portion that do the necessary mingling which later ensue in something recognisably a baby fern . In possibility . This mingling specifically demand water supply – the spermatazoa are swimmer not fishworm . This is why ferns are usually recover in dampish conditions . This means that the pot needs to be keep moist and sure as shooting not allow to dry out . An occasional spritz with a fine spray of boiled , cooled water supply is recommend . I should see this medium liverwortesque prothallus phase after anything from 2 to 26 workweek , which is a bit vague as an separation ! ‘ Quite a while ’ is what I took from that .
I ’ll be back , with an update on forward motion and the next degree of this process , or if anything drastic happens .
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