RAISE YOUR OWN FERNS FROM SEED

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 608, 9 March 1929, Page 28

RAISE YOUR OWN FERNS FROM SEED

Ferns do not produce flowers and seeds, but are reproduced from the j spores which develop ou the backs of the fronds. If you examine a mature frond you will see that these spores, which are brown in colour, are arranged in different ways on the various types of ferns. On the Pteris or Ribbon Fern they are arranged around the edges, but ou the Maidenhair they are formed in distinct patches. Before sowing them you must be sure they are ripe. Select a frond on which the spores are brown, and lay it on a piece of clean white paper in a dry room. If in 24 hours the spores have fallen off you may be sure they are ripe. Before sowing it is advisable to sterilise the soil, to prevent the growth of moss. There are various ways of sterilising the soil, but the simplest method is as follows: Procure a large tin and fill it with the compost, which should consist of equal parts of loam, and leaf-mould with a small amount of crushed charcoal —and a little sand. Stand the tin on the fire or gas stove until the soil is steaming hot, and then spread it out to cool on a piece of board. When it is cooled, place it in a five-inch pot and sprinkle on a little charcoal dust. The spores may now be sow thinly on the surface, and the pot covered with a piece of glass. The pot must be stood in a saucer of water and placed in a shady part of the greenhouse or on the window-sill. Beyond keeping the saucer filled with water, no more attention is needed until the young plants are seen. In a few weeks a green moss-like growth will appear on the surface of the compost. This is the first stage in the fern’s development. Examine it closely and you will find it is composed of innumerable thin flat green heart-shaped bodies about half an inch in diameter. Young fronds will eventually grow out of these and when they are large enough to handle they should be pricked off into pots or pans. Keep them well watered and shaded, and they will soon be large enough to be potted singly in small pots.