Selaginella or scrub (Selaginella) - an inhabitant of the tropics and subtropics, the Selaginella plant represents the Selaginellaceae family. Under natural conditions, Selaginella lives in humid forests of tropical latitudes, so it can stay in a dimly lit place for a long time. She is not afraid of an excess of moisture, since her roots do not rot. The plant is capable of developing in any conditions: on rocks, in trees, on the banks of reservoirs, in rocky areas.
Selaginella comes from the family of lycopods - representatives of ancient species of vegetation. A short herbaceous plant has shoots of a creeping or ascending type. Many root growths grow from them. Small five-millimeter foliage is arranged in two rows, has the shape of a tile, it can be either with a glossy surface or with a matte surface. The color of the foliage covers the entire palette of green, there are even thin yellow veins. At home, selaginella is best grown in closed transparent containers, such as florariums, greenhouses, display cases, bottle gardens, that is, where sufficient moisture can be created. Most often, this houseplant has an epiphytic or groundcover appearance.
Caring for Selaginella at home
Lighting
The plant loves diffused light and will tolerate light shading. Selaginella is able to grow even under artificial light.
Temperature
The temperature range for Selaginella should be constant throughout the year: from 18 to 20 degrees. Also, the plant does not like drafts very much.
Air humidity
Selaginella requires high humidity, so it needs to be constantly sprayed 2-3 times a day. It will not be superfluous to keep the pot on wet pebbles or expanded clay.
Watering
Selaginella needs abundant watering all year round. This is the plant that is not afraid of overflow and root decay. The earth ball should never dry out, it should always be slightly damp. To achieve this, you can put the pot in a container of water for irrigation. Water is suitable for this soft, well-kept at room temperature.
The soil
The soil must be selected loose, with a sufficient amount of moisture and with an acidic reaction (pH 5-6). Peat, sand and leafy soil in equal proportions are quite suitable for Selaginella.
Top dressing and fertilizers
Selaginella is fertilized in the warm season once a fortnight with a complex preparation for plants with decorative leaves. In this case, the dosage is reduced by half from that indicated on the package.
Transfer
Selaginella is transplanted into a wider pot once every 2 years. Transplanting is best done by the transhipment method. Don't forget to take care of good drainage!
Reproduction of selaginella
Selaginella can be propagated both by spores and vegetatively - by dividing the bush. Reproduction using spores is very time consuming and rarely used in practice. Therefore, it will be more applicable to separate the bush during the spring transplant.
To do this, five-centimeter rhizomes with shoots are placed in small pots with a peat substrate, 5-6 pieces together. The soil is moistened abundantly and moisture levels are kept constant.
Diseases and pests
Excessive dryness of the air is very harmful for Selaginella, in such conditions it can be struck spider mite... Soapy water and actellic with a concentration of 1-2 drops per liter of water will help save the plant from the pest.
Possible difficulties in growing Selaginella
- Darkening and dying off of foliage - too hot.
- Pulling shoots and blanching foliage - little light.
- Withering and softening of the leaf plate - lack of air at the roots.
- Selaginella grows poorly - there are few nutrients in the soil.
- Drying of the tips of the leaves - dry air.
- Leaves curl - the presence of drafts and hot temperatures.
- Leaves lose color - direct sunlight.
Popular types of selaginella
Selaginella apoda
It is a herbaceous perennial plant that forms pads like sod moss. It has thin leaves and short, weakly branched shoots. Its leaves, oval on the sides and heart-shaped in the middle, are green in color and jagged along the edges. Grows best when suspended.
Selaginella willdenowii
It is a perennial small shrub with branched shoots. Stems can be either simple or single-branched, smooth and flat, without division into segments. Leaves on the sides are separated from the main mass, have the shape of an oval. In the center, the foliage is rounder and green in color. It grows in ampelous form.
Selaginella martensii
The perennial groundcover of Selaginella has straight stems 30 cm in height, which grow and begin to adhere, forming root ends in the air. Its shoots resemble fern frond, sprinkled with the smallest green leaves. One of its varieties, watsoniana, has silvery-white stems at the ends.
Selaginella lepidophylla
An amazing plant that can change its shape, signaling the need for moisture. When there is little of it, it bends with its stems and twisted leaves, taking on a spherical shape. After watering, its 5-10 cm stems unbend, returning the plant to its original appearance. Because of this, it is called the resurrected one or the Jericho rose.
Selaginella Swiss (Selaginella helvetica)
This species forms densely woven pads from its twigs, covered with small leaves. The color of the leaves is light green, and they themselves are located at right angles to each other, have an oval shape and small cilia at the edges. The size of one sheet plate is only 1.5 mm long and 1 mm wide.
