Almost every flower lover knows this beautiful plant. It is called Fittonia. Few can resist buying such a flower when they see it in a shop window. If we compare it with such "noble" plants as croton, azalea, Saintpaulia and others, then Fittonia wins in price, and beautiful variegated leaves of green or carmine-red color will attract the attention of even the most fastidious buyer. Having got to know this flower better, it becomes clear that it is easy to care for and grow, and over time, without large expenses, a small bush will turn into a motley clearing as if collected from the eggs of amazing birds.
For home cultivation, as a rule, such types of fittonia are used as large (giant) and Vershafelt (small-leaved). You need to know that the small-leaved variety of the plant is in great demand, and the large one is less in demand among flower growers. Fittonia can be used not only as a separate indoor flower in the interior, but also in conjunction with other plants.
Fittonia care at home
Lighting and location. Fittonia, like other types of decorative deciduous plants with variegated leaves, needs good lighting without direct sunlight. With a lack of lighting, the leaves of the flower will turn pale, and the flower itself will rise and take on an emaciated and painful appearance. The required minimum light can be determined by rearranging the plant in different places, while observing its reaction, which manifests itself very quickly. The best places for fittonia are considered to be windows on the west or east side. It is worth noting that northern windows with partial shade may also come up, but this is more related to the subsequent generations of the flower, that is, grown and raised in this particular house with its conditions. In winter, you should try to add additional lighting.
Temperature. It should be noted right away that Fittonia is afraid of drafts and temperature surges. In this regard, it is undesirable to take such a flower outside even in the warm season. This can confirm my own unpleasant experience ... Just at the beginning of my passion for floriculture before an urgent business trip, I forgot to warn my family about this property of Fittonia. Mom took the plant with "paper" leaves outside to stand in the air, thinking that I had simply forgotten or did not have enough time for this. Two weeks later it was too late to save the flower ...
In other moments, Fittonia is just perfect for growing in a city apartment. It perfectly withstands the familiar "winter heat" and temperatures up to +25 degrees, which destroys many indoor plants. For fittonia, this is a normal temperature level, but a decrease to +17 degrees or even less provokes illness and death of the flower. With all this, you need to try not to put it near the radiators, which is not easy, especially if its place is on the windowsill. More on that later.
Air humidity and watering. It is impossible to overdry the earth, since even due to one overdrying, the plant will begin to lose leaves. At the same time, stagnation of water is unacceptable, so the roots can rot. You need to choose something in between and always monitor the condition of the soil. This indoor flower is prone to high transpiration - evaporation of moisture through the leaves.This ability leads to the rapid drying out of the soil in the pot, which is important to take into account.
In the summer, the plant should be watered abundantly and often, and by the fall, gradually reduce the number of waterings and leave until spring 1-2 days after the topsoil dries. In this case, it all depends on the temperature in the room, since if it is very hot, the earth will dry out faster, and more frequent watering will be needed. The main thing is not to let the earth dry out completely.
Air humidity should be increased all year round. This is especially important in winter, when the indoor air is very dry. Spray Fittonia once or twice a day. If this is not possible, then the pot is placed in a tray filled with wet pebbles, expanded clay or moss. A common mistake to avoid is putting a pot in water. Its bottom should never come into contact with water.
How to transplant. Fittonia grows very quickly, so it is better to replant it annually. This is especially important for young plants. For an adult, a transplant is permissible in 2-3 years. For transplanting, you need to take the following composition of the earth:
- One piece of humus
- One piece of peat
- Three pieces of leafy land
- One piece of sand
An important condition for transplanting is good drainage.
The root system of fittonia is superficial, so a wide and shallow pot should be chosen. In such a dish, the flower will look even more catchy.
How to propagate. This can be done in several ways - by layering, cuttings or dividing the bush (the simplest of them). The division is carried out in the spring, while when transplanting, the roots must be divided and transplanted into different pots. The method of propagation by cuttings is also simple. In this case, in spring or summer, the apical stalk 6-7 cm long, on which 3-5 leaves, is transplanted into wet sand. You can also use peat tablets, peat and sphagnum moss.
The planted plant is covered from above with a cap, which can be a bag, glass jar, etc. The taken stalk is also allowed to simply be put into water without pouring too much of it. The water level in the tank should be no more than 1 cm. This is necessary for good oxygenation of the water. The container in which the handle stands is also covered with a cap. With either method, the cutting should be periodically opened and sprayed.
Suitable for breeding fittonia and layering. This method is well known to those summer residents who propagated gooseberries. A long shoot of the plant is taken, from which the leaves need to be removed, and directly on the mother plant, it is dropped into this or, if desired, into another pot. After the young flower takes root, it is separated from the mother plant. It is worth noting that over time, Fittonia grows and loses its attractive appearance. Because of this, it needs to be updated frequently.
How to prune and shape a bush. To make the bush lush, the tops of the shoots must be pinched. This is most important for young plants. According to observations, after 3-4 years, due to the growth of fittonia, its lower part is exposed, which does not look very beautiful. If there is no opportunity or desire to grow a new plant, you can rejuvenate the old one. For this, old shoots are cut off, but not entirely. Fittonia should have leaves, so it is better to cut it in several stages. But it is still better to grow a young flower.
Pests. Can damage the plant thrips, scabbard, worm and spider mite.
Thank you very much, but I bought the point and she asks how to take care of her, well, she found this site! Thank you so much!
I love Fittonia and have been growing it for about 10 years. I have 3 varieties. I grew everything from one leaf. The soil was the simplest, with sandy garden. I'll tell you about the variety that is shown here in the last photo.The pot is 15 cm high and the same diameter. I have not transplanted for 9 years, only occasionally pinched and pruned the hanging shoots. Some stems were rooted without cutting in the center of the pot so that it was not empty. Fertilized a little, twice a year. Especially with her did not stand on ceremony. I even watered it at the wrong time, so the plant hung as if it were dead. But after watering, within an hour, it came back to life. Moreover, the hanging situation was repeated many times. Never sprayed. And while moving, I took only 3 cuttings, which have been growing for several months in a mixture of purchased peat, lawn soil and sand from a construction site, very fine. True, for good growth, I watered it with Zdravenem a couple of times and once fertilized it with liquid vermicompost.
Several months ago I bought Dutch fittonias, but they grow very slowly and do not think to bush. I heard that Dutch plants are poorly domesticated and die after 4 months. Even this term did not come out for my copies. But the leaves planted from them gave good roots and everything has already dried up. I don’t understand the reason, because they grew up in the same pot with the mother plant.
Many sites write that Fittonia is growing rapidly. It seems to me that it is growing at a snail's pace. If you compare with Tradescantia.
I'll tell you more about the variety, which is in the very first photo here. This Fittonia also happens with pink veins. These fittonias need to be watered regularly. Forgetting to water means killing the flower. Like the previous variety, this one is not restored. In the best case, one or two branches will dry out, in the worst case, you will lose the entire plant. As for the soil, top dressing and spraying, everything is the same as in the first option: I grow in a mixture of peat, loam and fine building sand. I do not spray, sometimes I fertilize.
I can't say anything about overfilling, because I have a habit of drying flowers.
Since Fittonias tend to die, you need to distribute their cuttings to all interested friends and acquaintances, so that later where to get them.
A year ago I bought the first Fittonia, green with pink veins. A miracle, not a flower. Very unpretentious. Later I also bought light green-red, green-white and pink-red. Feel great in a wide but deep pot. Because initially it was a miniature garden, then the top layer of the soil eventually enriched with decorative small pebbles. Perhaps this also somehow had a good effect on the growth of plants. Fittonia, which is already a year old, itself gave layering (when transplanting a neighboring flower, the twig was sprinkled with earth). And the most amazing thing is that for several months Fittonia has been blooming with small purple flowers.
I bought fetonia for the first time. But for some reason the leaves begin to curl. Can you please tell me what this might be? Thank you.
Lyudmila, pay attention to where the flower stands. If possible, put it on the west window. The lighting must be good! But not direct sunlight. Remember to water and spray the plant 1-2 times a day. This will only benefit, since the plant loves moisture. From my own experience, I will say that it is better not to grow this plant in the kitchen, since cooking food becomes stuffy and hot, and the result is less oxygen. And more! I noticed that Fittonia doesn't like fasting! It must be watered on time! Check often if the soil in the pot is dry!
My fittonia (green with silver veins) had the same problem. When I put it in a plastic bag, it came to life, straightened the leaves, the twigs rose, it became kind of plump, but as soon as the bag was removed, everything returned, and the leaves also fell off. So she never survived. I should note that she was standing in the kitchen, on the windowsill near the balcony door. Not the right place at all.
Hello! I bought phytonia in the spring, transplanted it closer to summer, I do everything as in a textbook ... I add it, spray it, the western window, there are no drafts without direct rays, etc.! BUT! The plant stretches out and does not look very nice, not as it should be a bush ... although many new leaves grow on the sides, but they are small and not very colorful !!!
Hello! You are his
pinch, then it will grow in width.
Hello, I'm going to buy Fittonia. now it is winter and there is practically no sun, will it die quickly and how to fix the situation
I have a question. Can you plant in one pot of different colors? Green and red.
Of course. I have 2 pots of 5 colors (colors) live completely peacefully. This is one plant, and therefore the same care. Very nice and not whimsical. Perfect home decoration.
Tell me, I want to plant a young Fittonia in a spherical semi-open florarium with a diameter of 20 cm. How to cut it correctly so that it does not fill the entire florarium when it starts to grow?
I bought Fittonia and immediately transplanted it into a large deep pot (along with soil from the store pot). Just now I found out that the pot for her needs a shallow and wide one. Tell me, is it possible to transplant it for the second time in a row, or do you need to wait for next spring?