2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
This aquatic plant, similar to duckweed or openwork moss, is quite small compared to ordinary ferns, but still incredibly attractive. The homeland of such a tiny fern is the tropical waters of America. The Azolla beauty is great for decorating the water surface of medium and small reservoirs. The dense and elegant decorative carpet formed by her will appeal to many
Getting to know the plant
In appearance, Azolla resembles duckweed or openwork moss: its branchy stems are very dense, like scales, cover tiny leaves. Each leaf is equipped with two lobes - an oval-shaped upper floating part and a lower submerged part. The adventitious roots collected in bundles hang down from small nodules into the water. The branched stems of the azolla float in the water column. Their length can reach 25 - 30 cm.
Azolla leaves, as soon as the cold is established, quickly rot, and young plants begin to form from the spores that sink to the bottom with the onset of spring.
Despite the well-developed rhizome, Azolla assimilates nutrients with its entire surface, by analogy with many floating plants.
A characteristic feature of azolla is symbiosis with anabens - nitrogen-fixing blue-green algae. This symbiosis is carried out thanks to the downward-directed blades of the floating segments of the azolla leaves.
When the ambient temperature changes, as well as the light intensity, these plants are able to change their color, turning from green to reddish and brown.
There are six types of Azolla in total, the most common are: Azolla Nile; azolla pinnate; azolla caroline (also called water fern); fern azolla (fern-like).
Under natural conditions, you can meet Azolla in the temperate and tropical zones of our planet.
Azolla use
Azolla is mainly used in landscape design, in winter gardens and as a decoration for the surfaces of small and medium-sized reservoirs. But in tropical Asia, it is also an excellent fertilizer for rice fields - Azolla perfectly increases their fertility. Its ability to accumulate nitrogen will compete with any legume crops, respectively, the azolla will be useful on the farm. Moreover, it is excellent at suppressing weeds.
Enriching the water with oxygen, this aquatic beauty creates a very favorable environment for fish fry, and its roots provide an excellent shelter for tiny fry. Experienced aquarists appreciate this property of the Azolla, especially noting the Azolla Caroline in this regard.
How to grow
For growing the beautiful Azolla, both shaded and well-lit reservoirs with slowly flowing or stagnant waters are suitable. A wonderful plant reproduces in the summer by division, growing at an incredible speed. Lateral shoots broken off from the main plant should be immersed in water. If the conditions of the Azolla are very favorable, it can multiply by spores.
The optimum temperature for growing Azolla is considered to be 16 - 28 degrees. This plant will be very useful for aquariums. To grow it, it is best to take soft water, with a weak acidic or neutral reaction.
Azolla, alas, is not friendly with low temperatures, since it is thermophilic. For this reason, for the winter, it is best to move it indoors and place it in a glass jar or an aquarium filled with water and soil (in street ponds, you can leave azolla for the winter only if the water does not freeze in them). With the onset of April, the azolla is returned to the reservoir.
Azolla does not require special care, however, a certain part of the plants should be caught periodically, otherwise, due to their high growth rate, they can quickly fill the entire surface. Azolla does not need any preventive treatments for pests and diseases, since it is practically not susceptible to pest attacks and diseases.
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