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Ferns are very beautiful plants and are valued for their lovely long leaves. The most popular of all indoor ferns is the maidenhair fern (Adiantum).
When it comes to their care, they can be a little difficult to manage. These ferns require frequent watering and constantly moist, soggy soil.
Special care is also needed to prevent them from being overwatered. Overwatering causes more deaths than any other cause combined.
To increase the load, these plants are also very demanding on moisture. They need humidity between 50 and 70% for good growth.
A full pebble tray underneath or a humidifier is therefore essential. Balancing all of these optimal conditions can be difficult for novice gardeners.
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hydroponic technique
To easily escape all these stressors, ferns can only be grown in water. The technique used for this is called hydroponics.
This is completely different from hydroponics. Although both techniques use only water as the culture medium, there is an important difference between the two.
In hydroponics, a nutrient solution is used to grow plants. In hydroponics, in addition to water, an inert porous medium is used.
It is also called “passive hydroponics” or “semi-hydroponics”.
In this method, water and fertilizer are retained by the medium and are constantly supplied to the roots of the growing plant.
This reduces the burden of frequent watering, as is necessary for potted plants in the ground.
The most common media used for this purpose are lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA), perlite or gravel.
What are plants that grow in water called?
Plants that grow in fresh or salt water are said to be aquatic. They are also called macrophytes or hydrophytes to distinguish them from microphytes.
Microphytes include the microscopic algae commonly found in fresh water.
They are not visible to the naked eye, while macrophytes are visible to us. The most common example of a macrophyte that we see in our daily life is the water lily.
Although we only think that aquatic plants can thrive in hydroponics, but it doesn’t.
Plants that normally grow in soil can also thrive just as well in this type of medium.
Plants can easily adapt to their new environment by making some changes to their morphology.
Due to a more abundant supply of oxygen compared to the soil environment, plants develop thinner leaves with thinner cell walls.
This phenomenon is called phenotypic plasticity. Ferns easily take this approach and grow well hydroponically.
Can I grow ferns only in water?
Yes, you can only grow ferns in water, it’s pretty easy as long as they get enough sunlight and nutrients.
How to grow ferns only in water?
They can survive in such an environment for quite some time.
They can be grown with their leaves out of the way or completely submerged.
Following these steps will ensure your fern survives well in the environment:
1) Transplant ferns:
The first step is to separate the soil from an already potted fern. The plant is carefully removed from the pot or container in which it is enclosed.
The roots are then gently exposed by placing the plant under running water. Large soil particles can be removed by hand, taking care not to damage the soft roots.
2) Put it in the container:
Get an appropriately sized hydroponic pot if you want to keep debris out of the water. But if you want the fern completely submerged, you need to use a tank of clean water.
For leaf appearance:
A transparent container is not necessary if you do not want to submerge the leaves in water. Normal sized hydroponic pots can be used for this.
These pots have a small hole in the side of the rim to hold the water meter. The meter helps determine when to water the plant.
The plant is placed in the container and the clay aggregates are allowed to cover the roots.
The junction of roots and stem is kept close to the edge of the container. Then the water is poured to the marked optimal level.
To soak the leaves:
Place the fern in the clear container and fill it with gravel or LECA (clay aggregates) so that the roots are completely covered.
Cover only the roots and leave the stems and leaves intact. Then completely fill the container to submerge the fern.
If you liked this article, you will like our article on: how to make homemade fertilizer for ferns
Provide proper care for growing ferns in water only:
1) Keep the water in the optimal range:
The water meter is an easy way to check what the fern needs. The water should be kept within the optimum range for as long as possible.
The visible indicator helps prevent most gardeners from overwatering their ferns.
This reduces your fears of damaging the plant in any way. Most ferns only need water after a week.
2) Use of hydroponic fertilizers:
Ferns can be fed hydroponically during the growing season. Fertilizer consists of micro and macro nutrients essential for plant growth.
Most ferns need to be fertilized twice in summer and twice in winter. These fertilizers can also be given in small amounts every 3 months.
Provide proper care for submerged ferns:
For submerged ferns, the following steps should be followed:
1) Change the water:
With submerged ferns, the water is changed weekly to prevent algae formation. Otherwise, the container will look greenish and ugly.
2) Wash the container:
The transparent container should be washed thoroughly every 3-4 months to prevent mold growth.
To do this, the fern is gently removed from the water and the container is thoroughly rinsed to remove any buildup of fungus or algae colonies.
Other requirements for both types of planting methods:
Other requirements of these ferns, such as light and temperature, are comparable to those of potted ferns.
Ferns grow best in bright indirect light and do not tolerate direct sunlight. They can do it as well low light conditions too.
As for temperature, they grow best between 16-27°C (60-80°F).
Moisture retention is no longer an issue in this situation, as the plants are already in good contact with the surrounding water.
This mimics their tropical climate and they grow to their full potential, just like they do in the ground.
Advantages of growing ferns only in water:
Here are the benefits of growing ferns in water only:
1) Better root health
Clay aggregates contain a significant amount of air compared to normal soil. This ensures a continuous supply of fresh oxygen to the roots when needed.
This promotes good air circulation and the roots become healthier and plumper, allowing the plant to adapt to this style of environment.
2) Pest control:
Since plants already live in water, very few pests can overcome this obstacle and cause significant damage.
The optimized environment also makes these plants less susceptible to fungal and bacterial attack.
3) Elimination of excess water and humidity problems:
Ferns require a very complex water balance when growing in soil.
Growing the plant in this style completely eliminates the fear of overwatering.
The water meter is always visible, so you can take care of the plant when it needs it most.
Also, since the plants are surrounded by water on all sides, there is no need to fill trays with pebbles and install humidifiers.
What other plants can you grow only in water?
Other plants that can be grown in the same way include:
- Croton plants (Codiaeum variegatum)
- Dracaena (dragon plant)
- Sword ferns (Polystichum munitum)
- terrestrial bromeliads
- jade plants (Crassula ovata)
Final thoughts: Can I grow ferns alone in water?
Although hydroponics is a new technique, it is rapidly gaining popularity due to its amazing results.
The initial setup of this system may seem difficult. But once the plants have established themselves in cultivation, caring for them is no longer an issue.
Ferns are difficult to manage in the hands of novice gardeners. By applying this technique, they are freed from all worries related to the maintenance of the plant.
Before you go, here are some more related articles that I encourage you to read below to solve more of your gardening problems:
What Are the Benefits of a Boston Fern?
How do you save a dying staghorn fern?
How to grow asparagus ferns from tubers?
Why does your fern smell like fish and how to fix it?
How to Stop Boston Fern Leaf Curling?
About the Author:
Saad Anzar
Saad is an avid gardener and a great lover of plants, animals, photography and people. Currently, his focus is on indoor plant photography and captioning beautiful landscapes. Write and rewrite feature articles on nature and science.