Ostrich fern. Common ostrich species: how to grow a beautiful fern on the site. Types and varieties of fern ostrich

The ostrich is a type of fern that can often be found in garden plots. The plant reproduces vegetatively by scaly creeping shoots.

The fern has two types of leaves:

• sterile: reach a length of one and a half to two meters, form a cirrus funnel;
• spore-bearing: two or three small leaves inside the funnel.

The name of the plant is due to the similarity of leaves with ostrich feathers. In fact, the plant has a lot of names, among others - German Straussoper.

Large foliage disappears in autumn, only spore-bearing shoots remain for wintering. In spring, their edges open, spores that have fallen into the soil begin to germinate.

The first leaves appear in May, as soon as a stable warm weather. First, they are folded inward. Summer frosts can kill shoots, but the plant recovers quickly.

As the young foliage grows, it straightens out and forms a large funnel in the middle of summer. Sporiferous leaves appear in August. These brown shoots look very unusual and are often used as dried flowers for flower arrangements.

Kinds

There are two varieties of Ostrich:

• ordinary;
• Oriental.

The first type is the most common. The plant grows quickly, tolerates frost well and requires special care. The branches are wide, pinnate, have a light green color. In another way, this variety is called "varicolate", sometimes because of the black color of the trunk and the dimorphism of the foliage - "black fern".

Oriental ostrich has large branches collected in bunches. In height reaches one and a half meters. The leaf plates are pinnate, the feathers are folded and narrow. The petioles are covered with a brown film.

These species differ from each other in the number of leaves of the first order, which are smaller in the eastern one, but they are larger in size.

Oriental ostrich requires more careful care, needs, in addition to regular watering, protection from the wind.

How is it different from other garden ferns

The ostrich outwardly resembles shield ferns or nomadic ferns. But it is distinguished by a more powerful "crown": in favorable conditions it can grow up to 1.5-2 m in height.

It is distinguished from other ferns by the shape of the bush. Its branches are arranged in a circle on top of a bulbous rhizome. The shoots of this variety grow at the same time, therefore, in summer time the shrub looks like a vase with an empty middle.

The main difference between the Ostrich and other species is that by the end of summer it grows spore-bearing ostrich-like feathers. They appear in the center of the funnel and rarely reach 50-60 cm. Sporonoses have twisted segments resembling "sausages".

Common ostrich

Eastern ostrich

Shield

Landing

This variety of fern tolerates frost well and grows even on poor soils. However, when planting and growing, it must be taken into account that the earth should not remain dry for a long time. You can choose a shady or open place.

The fern is planted with fronds, i.e. branches. After planting, they are sprinkled with soil and watered abundantly.

The plant can grow in the sun, but even with sufficient moisture, it will not grow too large.

Care

Both species of the Ostrich tolerate temperatures down to -10 ° C well. Too much heat(over 25 C o) is unacceptable - the plant will begin to wither and dry out. Like other ferns, Ostrich does not like drought. Leaves in dry weather should be sprayed, the soil should remain moist all the time.

The plant can be fed with mineral or organic fertilizers. This is not a prerequisite for care.

Transplanted Ostrich in the spring. For this purpose, a young bush is dug up. You can plan a transplant at the end of summer - for this, a part of the maternal rhizome with a kidney is used.

Pruning is not applied to ferns. However, once every three years, the plant is thinned out, as it grows strongly. For this reason, it is better not to experiment with group plantings.

Where to buy, how much will it cost

The fern can be bought in a special nursery or ordered through an online store. The cost of a seedling varies between 300-1000 rubles. On Avito, prices for seedlings and seeds range from 100-200 rubles.

Application in landscape design

The common ostrich has found wide application in landscape design. This plant is not intended for growing at home and is planted only on summer cottages, in parks, gardens, etc.

Ferns look good in group landings with other plants, in perfect harmony with boulders and. Bushes are planted in the darkened corners of the garden, on the northern slopes. The ostrich is used for decoration and front gardens.

Any ferns, including Straussoper, are indispensable for peat soils oversaturated with moisture.

The common ostrich looks great with large and bushy flowers:

• irises;

Ostrich and Rhododendron (Rhododendron Galathea)

In a too shady area, the fern successfully coexists with the daylily,.

When including a fern in flower beds, you need to take into account that the plant can spread and suppress other specimens, so this should be done carefully.

Ferns are often planted together with spring bulbous flowers, tulips, daffodils: the emerald foliage of the Ostrich hides the fading bulbs well.

It is better not to plant a fern along too narrow paths, as while walking you can injure the delicate and fragile foliage. On the garden plot it is better to give the Ostrich a place between the house and the fence, where they do not go very often, but the view from the window matters. Ostrich looks great between pines and large apple trees.

Ostrich and other types of ferns are actively used in the design of winter bouquets. Sporonos retain their shape for a long time and are used as a dried flower material for various floral arrangements.

Review on video

About the ostrich in the garden - in the blog Harvest beds.

Ferns are plants that among gardeners have both ardent admirers and irreconcilable opponents. Indeed, on the one hand, these mysterious inhabitants forests look great, delighting with bright green carved leaves, and on the other hand, they tend to spread throughout the garden, conquering more and more new territories. And yet, it is difficult to do without them, especially if your site is located in a wooded area, poorly lit and humid. In this case, it is the ferns that are able to decorate the garden and take root in difficult conditions.

The ostrich is one such ornamental fern. It is certainly beautiful: large dissected leaves, collected in a dense rosette, proudly rise up.

And it’s also useful - since ancient times, the ostrich has been used not only for decorative, but also for practical purposes:

• The young shoots, called rachis, are used in cooking in some countries. Native American Indians were especially fond of ostrich dishes. Boiled and fried, this fern is a bit like mushrooms or broccoli. Rakhis can even be pickled or salted for the winter.
• The ostrich is considered medicinal plant and is widely used in traditional medicine to treat colds, burns and wounds, and as a pain reliever. It is also effective in the fight against helminths.
• This perennial is also known for its insecticidal properties - decoctions, tinctures and powders from the leaves help in the fight against various pests.

[!] Ostrich is poisonous to farm animals. This should be remembered by gardeners who keep livestock.

Now the fern has lost its economic importance and is only used in decorative purposes as landscape decoration.

Own Latin name perennial received in honor of the Italian scientist Carlo Matteuchi. As for the common common name of the plant - ostrich, it is formed due to the similarity of leaves with an ostrich feather. There is also a large number folk names- ostrich, bedbug, crow's wing, black grass, viper, variegated, river fern, which are associated with the various qualities of the fern: the ability to drive away bedbugs, the black color of the stem, settling along the banks of rivers and streams.

According to the botanical classification, the ostrich (lat. Matteuccia struthiopteris) is a genus belonging to a small family of Onocleaceae (lat. Onocleaceae). This is a large (up to 1.5 m in height in a cold climate and 4 m in a warm one) plant with a long creeping rhizome and wide fronds (as the leaves of all ferns are called), collected in a dense funnel. Small fronds with spores are located in the center of the funnel, and larger and sterile ones along the edges. All leaves have a pinnate structure and are painted in a bright green hue.

The North American continent is considered the birthplace of the fern, but over time, the culture settled throughout the globe in temperate regions. AT this moment in wild nature perennial found in northern and Central Europe, as well as Asia, a large population of the ostrich grows in our country.

[!] The plant is included in the Red Book of many regions of Russia.

As you know, ferns, including the ostrich, are very ancient plants that appeared at a time when there were no bees. They reproduce in a special way - by spores located on fronds. That is why flowers, and hence seeds, are absent in these plants. However, the beauty of the luxurious perennial leaves more than compensates for the lack of buds.

According to folk tales one day a year, on Ivan Kupala, the fern still blooms fiery flower. And the one who finds it and plucks it will receive all the treasures of the world and magical abilities. It is up to you to believe in this legend or not, however, growing such a mysterious representative of the kingdom of Flora in your garden is certainly a very interesting activity.

Types of ostrich

Botanists disagree on how many plant species belong to the genus of the same name. According to some data, the genus consists of a single species, other scientists believe that there are several of them (from two to four). For gardeners, perhaps, such subtleties are not very important, so all decorative ostriches can be combined.

(lat. Matteuccia struthiopteris). A large perennial popular in culture, the maximum height of which is northern regions- 1.5 m, in the south - 2.5 m. Decorated with large carved fronds of rich green color with short petioles, collected in a dense basal rosette of a funnel-shaped structure. It is very winter-hardy and keeps decorative effect up to the first frosts. This species has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Merit in Horticulture.

There are varieties distributed mainly in North America:

• Pennsylvanian ostrich (lat. Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pensylvanica)
• Fluffy ostrich (lat. Matteuccia struthiopteris var. pubescens)

Their appearance is almost identical to the mother plant.

There are several artificially bred varieties that differ in bush height and wai size:

• "The King" (Royal),
• "Bedraggled Feathers" (Disheveled feathers),
• "Jumbo" (Jumbo),
• "Erosa" (Eros).

The next two species, previously belonging to the ostrich genus, are now separated into a separate genus Pentarhizidium.

ostrich Oriental(lat. Matteuccia orientalis, Pentarhizidium orientalis). It grows mainly in Japan and China. This is a small plant, the average size of which is 60 cm in height and 50 cm in width. Compared to the ordinary one, it is more elegant, but, at the same time, demanding on the conditions of detention.

ostrich intermediate(lat. Matteuccia intermedia, Pentarhizidium intermedia). The fern is native to India and southern regions China. It has low frost resistance and is rarely used as an ornamental crop.

Use in landscape design

The ostrich is a beautiful large decorative leafy plant that lives in nature along the banks of reservoirs or in shady moist forests. That is why the perennial is indispensable for decorating shaded areas located in a lowland or on a river bank. Not many cultures can boast of shade tolerance and fern is one of them.

Tall carved ostrich leaves are an excellent background for lower ones. flowering plants, so it is recommended to plant it in the background of the flower bed. In addition, a fern can be decorated trunk circles tall trees or drop him separately in the middle of a shady clearing as a tapeworm.

Due to the passion of the ostrich for moist soils, it is indispensable for decorating the shady shores of natural and artificial reservoirs, and you can choose partners flowering plants who prefer high humidity:, iris, daylily.

The perennial can also be used for cutting, for decorating bouquets. bright flowers will look great against the backdrop of its emerald green.

Ostrich: cultivation and care

It is not difficult to grow an ostrich in your garden plot, you just need to remember some of the features of the content of this unusual culture:

• A prerequisite for growing ferns is well-moistened soil.
• The ostrich is considered an aggressive plant capable of a short time spread over a large area, and in a flower bed a fern can crush neighboring crops, which is why its growth and reproduction should be controlled.
• The ostrich is hardy and can grow even in areas with cold winters.
• The vast majority of ferns, including the ostrich, are perennials, which means they do not require annual planting.

Location, soil, watering

As mentioned above, the ostrich prefers shaded areas of the garden. Of course, it is not forbidden to grow it in the sun, but in this case the bush will be low, and the wai color will lose its brightness.

As for the soil, its composition is not important for the plant: both poor and rich substrates with neutral acidity are suitable. The only indispensable condition high humidity earth. If the fern does not grow on the shore of a reservoir and not in a wet lowland, it should be watered frequently and intensively. Watering is especially important on dry and hot days, when a moisture-loving crop suffers especially from a lack of water.

Formation

As you know, adult ostriches tend to crawl around the site, capturing more and more new territories, with the help of stolons - long creeping roots, a bit like ropes. The plant behaves especially aggressively on favorable peat soils.

To restrain the rapid growth of an ostrich, you can use several tricks recommended by experienced flower growers:

1. Localize the fern with a mini-fence. The bush should be fenced around, but not close, but with a margin. At the same time, both the underground and ground parts of the fence must be at least 10 cm, because stolon roots are located at a depth of 2-3 cm, and in some cases are able to crawl along the top.
2. Dig up and remove young specimens that have grown spontaneously in a timely manner. This is quite labor-intensive, because every year new shoots appear with a powerful root system.
3. In addition, you can restrain the growth of the fern by reducing its watering. In Spartan conditions, the perennial will not expend energy on reproduction.

Ostrich breeding

Both in the wild and in culture, the ostrich reproduces in two ways: by spores and vegetatively.

controversy

It is believed that fern propagation by spores is an activity available only experienced gardeners. Indeed, it is not at all easy to germinate disputes, but it is quite possible. To make it easier to understand step by step description process:

• First you need to collect disputes. To do this, cut off the vayu with sori (a group of spores that looks like a brownish tubercle on the underside of the leaf) located in the center of the rosette or, in order not to spoil the plant, simply draw a hard brush along reverse side vayi, substituting a sheet of paper from below. Choose ripened sori, their readiness can be determined by their brown-brown color. Usually ostrich spores are ready for breeding in August-September.

• Place the collected spores in a paper bag and let them dry for at least a week. In this form, they can be stored for a very long time, about 5-7 years, so it is not necessary to plant a fern right away.
• Then dried spores should be cleaned. To do this, carefully collect large particles and debris. Only the spores themselves should remain, which look like fine golden brown dust.
• You can start growing. As a substrate, take a mixture of leaf humus and peat or pure peat and steam it in a water bath. Thus, two problems are solved at once: the soil becomes sterile and well moistened.
• Place the prepared soil in plastic containers, tamp well and pour out the spores. Close the container, move it to a warm, bright place and, from time to time, gently moisten the substrate from a fine spray.
• After about 2 weeks, the pores will begin to sprout, forming a barely noticeable greenish coating on the soil. If the seedlings are too thick, they can be picked out by cutting a clod of earth into 1x1 cm squares and transferring them to a new container with the same substrate.
• When the seedlings grow up to 5 mm, they need to be sprayed with water. room temperature with a frequency of once a week. The lid of the container does not need to be removed.
• If necessary, landing can be dived again.
• After the ostrich sprouts stretch out by 5-6 cm, begin to gradually accustom them to the air of the room, gradually opening the lid and continuing to spray.
• After 1.5-2 years, young ostriches can be planted in open ground.

Vegetatively

Vegetative propagation of fern is a much simpler method. To do this, it is necessary to separate a part (20-30 cm) of a creeping root with several buds and plant it in a new place. Optimal time for transplantation - early spring, before the growth of shoots, or the first days of August, during the maturation of spores. Seating scheme for young ferns - 50x50 cm.

Common ostrich -Matteu ccia struthio pteris (L.) Tod. perennial fern, species of the genus Ostrich. Scientific name of the genus Matteuccia - given by the name of the Italian physiologist and politician Carlo Matteucci (Italian) (1811-1868). The specific epithet - struthiopteris - is given by the similarity of the frond to the feather of an ostrich. N. I. Annenkov believed that the original word was - wing. Annenkov, in addition, cited other Russian folk and dialect names for the ostrich: raven's wing, klopovnik, catman, large fern, black fern grass, river fern, black fern, paport, fern, viper, viper, kaparod, kaporko, ostrich grass feather , variegated, black grass. These names well reflected such features of the plant as leaf dimorphism, the black color of the stem, the similarity of leaves with a raven's wing, and seedlings with a cat (kochedyk - a crooked awl used when weaving bast shoes), confinement to forest rivers and streams (river fern), general form plants - funnel-shaped kupa.

The name “ostrichoper” was also used, which did not take root and is now replaced by an ostrich.

It grows in damp places at the bottom of ravines, on the banks of forest rivers and streams, in floodplains almost throughout the entire forest zone. Leaves are dimorphic. Vegetative sterile photosynthetic leaves (trophophylls) up to one and a half meters (in Europe) or four meters (in Asia), twice pinnate, form a funnel, in the center of which there are shorter once pinnate fertile spore-bearing leaves (sporophylls) with cylindrical segments, inside which sori are hidden . Sporophylls appear later than trophophylls, outwardly they resemble an ostrich feather (hence Russian name). The edges of the segments of spore-bearing leaves are folded up to the midrib, which provides protection to the rounded sori located at the ends of the ramifications of the veins. The sporophylls of the ostrich are first light green, then turn dark brown, contrasting in color with the light green sterile leaves. In autumn, the sterile leaves wither, and the spore-bearing ones remain to hibernate. Their dark brown tops can sometimes be seen sticking out above the snowy surface. In the spring, spores are released, while the edges of the leaves unfold. It reproduces by spores and by stolons. The spores are large, germinate in the spring when it falls the largest number rains, without a dormant period, immediately after dissipation. The spores contain a significant number of chloroplasts and are therefore green in color.It is used in folk medicine for the preparation of decoctions from rhizomes. According to N. I. Annenkov, it was used “from epilepsy, from worms, from fever” (in the Kazan province), and in Perm - “from thinness”.The young leaves are eaten in some countries.

It was used to destroy bedbugs (in the Arkhangelsk province).

Found in the area national park"Elk Island", and the reserve "Long Ponds.

Common ostrich fern - where does it grow, what does it look like? Features of the ostrich fern, its differences from our other ferns.

Hello dear reader!

Common ostrich fern is the most elegant fern in our forests. In my opinion, of course. But I'm sure a lot of people will support me.

But finding an ostrich fern is not at all so simple. This is not found in the forest at almost every step. And not very numerous.

So far, I have found a small population of the common ostrich in the vicinity of my city, only one and a half dozen specimens, in only one place. And quite by accident.

Filmed in August last year on a half-grown old woman in the valley of the river. South. He moved a couple of tens of meters to the neighboring oxbow lake. And I saw bright green fronds, collected in bunches resembling funnels or flowerpots. This was the ostrich fern.

This is how the common ostrich fern grows (photo - early September 2016)

The common ostrich (Matteuccia struthiopteris) is called the Holarctic species. The Holarctic is a natural region of the Earth, occupying a significant part of the northern hemisphere (Eurasia and North America), surrounding the Arctic. Accordingly, the range of the fern is extended to both of these continents.

In Russia, the ostrich fern is quite common in middle lane European part, in the North Caucasus, in the south of Western and Eastern Siberia, on the Far East- in Primorye, Sakhalin and Kamchatka. There is a fern in neighboring European and Asian countries.

Fern ostrich: description, features, photos

Fern grows in rather damp places, on fertile soils. It tolerates shading well, feels good under the canopy of deciduous and coniferous-deciduous forests. You should usually look for it along the banks of forest rivers, lakes, along ravines.

Like all ferns, the common ostrich - perennial. A thick rhizome is located vertically in the soil. Every year it gives new above-ground shoots - fronds. They appear in the spring, grow up, and then die off. On the rhizome, only scars and scales remain from the shoots of past years.

Under the ground, away from the rhizome, shoots grow - stolons, bearing buds, from which new plants can form. In this way it happens vegetative reproduction ostrich fern.

In the young shoots that appeared in the spring, the apical part is folded like a “snail”. This, however, is a feature of more than one ostrich - the young shoots of the bracken, and other ferns, look similar. Such stems are called rachis.

The ostrich's rachis somewhat resemble a now almost forgotten device for weaving bast shoes and baskets - kochedyk (or kotochig). One of the popular names for the ostrich fern is catman comes from this word.

However, a similar name, received for similar "kochedyk-like" young shoots, is now confidently "captured" by the female fern - it has become its scientific generic name.

Already at the beginning of summer, frond shoots unfold and grow, forming beautiful "bushes". Ostrich fern fronds can grow to a meter or more (according to literary sources). But the ferns in the group I discovered are not so large, their height does not exceed 70 cm. Perhaps there is simply not enough warm time to grow?

Large green sterile ostrich fern fronds

You probably noticed that I stubbornly call leaf-like fronds "shoots"? Although even in popular science literature you can find the word " leaves».

Flattened, branching in the same plane, fern shoots are really similar to the complex pinnately dissected leaves of some flowering plants. But there are also significant differences.

Any leaf grows with its base. It is there that the “growth zone” of the leaf is located, consisting of a large number of actively dividing cells. But the "leaf" of the fern grows at the top.

But this is how shoots grow, not leaves. Therefore, it is more correct to call the fronds of ferns "shoots". Well, the word "vaya" came from the ancient Greek language, where it meant " palm leaf".

The name "ostrich" fern received, as they say, for the resemblance to ostrich feathers. However, I don't see much of a resemblance. But I do not presume to dispute, because I had nothing to do with ostrich feathers.

The fronds of the ostrich fern are more like some kind of wings large bird. One of the popular names for the fern - “ raven's wing" - impresses me more.

However, no matter how elegant the ostrich fronds are, many ferns are quite similar. How to distinguish an ostrich fern from other representatives of this department of the plant world?

Differences of the common ostrich from other ferns

The ostrich fern has two types of shoots. The first is ordinary green fronds, collected in a funnel-shaped bundle (“kupu”). It is they who unfold at the beginning of summer from rachis. They are green, photosynthesis takes place in these fronds.

By the end of summer, in the middle of the green funnel, several more fronds appear, but of an unusual appearance. They are significantly lower than the others. At first, these shoots are also green, but their segments (leaves) are folded. Later, the "special fronds" darken, becoming brown, almost black.

In the population of common ostrich fern found a year ago, I did not find such shoots. That is, I was completely sure that I had found the ostrich! But I didn't have hard evidence.

But in September of this year, I found such evidence. True, only one fern from the entire group. It is in the photo below, where there are such “special” fronds.

Dark, distinct and shaped, ostrich fern fronds (photo - September 2017)

What are these escapes?

Let me remind you of some "primary truths". Ferns don't have flowers, so they don't have seeds.

(By the way. If you read somewhere about the "seeds" of a fern, it is best to treat such a publication with "healthy skepticism.")

Ferns have spores. From flowering seeds and gymnosperms they differ in that neither stock nutrients, there is no practically “ready”, but undeveloped, embryo in disputes.

The germinated spore gives rise to a new organism - very small, a couple of millimeters, and nothing like a fern. This is a fern plant (gametophyte).

On the growths in special organs, germ cells develop - gametes: large immobile eggs and small spermatozoa with a flagellum. In order for the sperm to merge with the egg (fertilization), drip-liquid water is needed (at least from dew or rain).

And already from a fertilized egg, an organism begins to slowly grow, which in a few years will take on the appearance of a fern familiar to us (sporophyte). In a few more years, disputes will appear on it.

Such, in in general terms, the development cycle of any fern. The sporophyte stage predominates in this cycle.

So, in most of our ferns (especially in those we know in this capacity), spores are formed in sporangia located on the back of the frond segments (leaves). They are collected in "bags" called sori. Sori of different ferns have different shape which makes it possible to distinguish them from each other.

But the ostrich fern has no sori on the reverse side of the frond segments. Its sporangia are collected and hidden precisely in those special blackening shoots, under the protection of folded leaves. The darkening of the spore-bearing fronds of the ostrich just reflects the process of spore maturation.

This is how the spore-bearing fronds of the ostrich fern look like (they have not completely darkened yet)

(And also “by the way.” If the author of an article about the ostrich fern illustrates it with a picture with sori on the back of the frond, explaining that these are “fern seeds”, how should one treat such a publication? - Well, right, again with " healthy skepticism!

The spore-bearing shoots of the common ostrich do not appear at all in the first years of the existence of the fern. It will take several years before “special”, blackening ones appear among the green sterile fronds.

I suspect that the ferns on the shore of the old lake in the valley of the South are still too young to form them. That's why I saw them in only one copy.

But the blackening spore-bearing shoots will remain to winter. In the spring, their leaves will unfold, and rather large greenish spores will take flight. Perhaps they are waiting new life- if you manage to get to the right place and meet soil fungi, without symbiosis with which the fern growth is not able to survive.

About the use of ostrich fern

Young undeveloped shoots - rachis are edible after boiling. But I have not tried it, so I will refrain from descriptions. Those readers who have a similar experience, I invite you to speak in the comments. In the case of the conversation turned out to be interesting.

Information about medicinal properties and the use of common ostrich fern so far I have found only on the Internet. Including, and on the resources mentioned above (where the "seeds" are on the back of the vay).

But the abundance of folk local names suggests that the ostrich fern was not at all indifferent to our ancestors. And he certainly found application in folk medicine.

The common ostrich was used as an insecticide to combat the "companions" of a person in his home. One of the popular names for the fern is “bug-bug” (it seems that it comes from the Arkhangelsk province).

Couldn't get past this. ornamental plant and gardeners. Nowadays, it is quite a popular species for landscaping. However, it is still better not to heed the advice to propagate the fern with spores. It is unlikely that such an operation will be successful.

The common ostrich is still quite rare within its vast range. In many regions of Russia, it is included in the local Red Books: in Kursk, Bryansk, Voronezh, Smolensk, Samara, Saratov, Volgograd, Murmansk regions, in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Fern - in the Red Book of Moscow.

In general, no time for “preparations”! But he is really very beautiful, this representative of the ancient flora. The ostrich fern adorns our forests, and is already valuable for this.

The ostrich lives on my site for about 30 years. This is favorite plant husband. While still a teenager, he planted a young fern bush brought from the schoolyard under the trees in front of the house, which now has a whole family and is successfully flourishing in the garden.

The process of opening wai (ostrich leaves) is simply mesmerizing. First, the base of the rhizome increases from the emerging buds. Then shoots rolled up like a snail appear, which grow up in a week and, making sure that everything around is safe, they begin to open their fists and straighten their bright green “plumage” towards the spring sun.

They look very beautiful against the background of early-flowering bulbs, which soon fade and take refuge under a dense carpet of fern leaves.

The ostrich eventually forms a stem, which has the shape of a pineapple with thorns.

It is formed from the ovaries of last year's leaves. New shoots grow from the middle, pushing the grown leaves outward. The size of the stem determines the age of the plant. How older plant, the thicker and higher its stem. My oldest fern has a stem size of 12 cm in diameter and 10 cm in height.

The ostrich lives in my garden in different parts of the garden, which made it possible to draw some conclusions about the planting site of this plant.

It is believed that the fern prefers shady places. This is not true. In the shade it grows smaller, the leaves do not reach their maximum height and outwardly the ostrich becomes not so good, although it grows and reproduces quite tolerably. Only crowded plantings will save here, which will help create the effect of a green carpet.

For an ostrich, the east or west side of the garden is suitable, preferably next to trees and shrubs. They will protect the fern from the direct rays of the midday sun, and in the morning and evening hours the ostrich will enjoy the gentle, non-burning sunlight.

With such partial illumination, the plant grows intensively and reaches its maximum size. Vayi form a beautiful light green rosette up to 1.5 meters high.

During the summer, in a hot dry time, the leaves of the ostrich lose their elegant appearance and become brittle, fragile feathers break off. There are practically no pests in the fern. Possible local damage by a leaf-cutting bee. To resume the previous appearance, the fronds that have lost their appearance are broken off from the plant. The fern will definitely grow new ones.

Watering in ostrich cultivation plays a special role. If you want to have a beautiful and well-groomed plant, water it without allowing the soil to dry out. The fern will also rejoice at sprinkling. From insufficient watering, the plant will not die, but you will not expect beauty from it.

I had a case when an ostrich bush grew under old pear in sandy soil. July was completely rainless and had to be watered a lot. With endless worries, I completely forgot about this bush, especially since we planned to cut down a pear. So, the leaves of this fern dried up, and I decided that he was dead. But as soon as the rainy season began, I noticed a new green sprout. The fern came to life. He, like a true fighter, adapted to these conditions and survived.

If you do not have the opportunity to water frequently, I advise you to mulch the soil with plant residues to maintain soil moisture. Mulch favorably affects the structure of the soil and subsequently becomes a fertilizer. It does not interfere with adding a little compost under each bush in the fall. This will be enough. The ostrich is not whimsical, it accepts any soil. Every gardener's dream.

Fern plantings can be diversified with large perennials: peonies, phloxes, astilbes and tall chrysanthemums.

From the bulbs, you can choose all early-flowering ones (daffodils, peonies, hyacinths), which will have time to bloom before the wai is fully opened. Can place lilies large varieties who will be able to get through the thickets of the ostrich and decorate them with their lush flowering.

The ostrich reproduces at the age of at least three years by underground processes.

And at least 4-5 years with spore-bearing leaves - sporophylls.

Sporophylls, similar to ostrich feathers, appear in August. By autumn, they become brown and are the main part of the ostrich that distinguishes it from other ferns.

I do not propagate with spores, as the plant forms many root offspring. It is enough to dig the desired bush in spring or autumn and transplant.

Even if, after transplantation, the leaves of the plant have dried up and it is no longer shown from the ground (with autumn planting), do not worry, new leaves will definitely appear in this place in the spring. The fern has a survival rate of 100%.

The main thing is to follow one rule. Plant a bush without deepening the base of the leaves where the column is planned. This planting is typical for strawberry crops. Over time, plantings begin to grow, and you will have to control them by thinning.

Can be planted in rabatki, fenced by any pavement, then the plant will multiply within the territory assigned to it.

They say that ferns bloom on Kupala. I have not observed this for my pets, although there is probably nothing impossible in the world. My fern flower blooms in my soul when I admire my garden - the result of inspiration and many years of work.