A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 silver nerved fittonia confusion?????

i recently purchased another fittonia. o.k. well the "little ticket" that was stuck in the plant said low light.

The caladium and coleus are both varigated and low light and what I read said they were low light too. So I would say the low is accurate. But I have never grown one so I don't know. I was thinking about getting one for a low light area I have that is in need of something.

well tk i have 2 plants one is a little "scragglyish" looking i think i need to clip it and start one from the clippings
(hint hint )i could send you some clippings

"Dim Bulb Question"

Care and Feeding of Clippings. I wouldn't have a clue what to do with them when they arrived . I would love to have them but I would be heartbroken to watch them die. I'm just to scared. Maybe after doing the seed and bulb thing for awhile I will try clippings but I'm to new of a gardener yet to try it. Thank you so much for the offer.

Phoenix,

Unfortunately, light intensity comes in gradations from very low to direct with lots of stops along the way.

Low light usually refers to the minimal light that is enough to keep a few selected species alive. Indirect light usually refers to natural light that is bright enough to read fine print by throughout the day. Bright indirect light is what you get all day long on a north windowsill.

Your Fittonia needs the latter to do well. It is not really a low light plant, although it cannot tolerate direct sun.

Caladiums and Coleus are also not low light plants. In fact, both require at least a few hours of direct sun each day.

BTW, light coming through a window is much less intense than light outside. Thus, plants that do well in light shade outside will need direct sun inside. That accounts for some of the confusion that experienced outdoor gardeners have with indoor plants.

WOW Will thanks,

I've got to move some plants they are located all wrong.

Ok, I've moved the caladium and coleus into windows.

I hope the caladium are ok they are bulbs so I have no way of knowing. I hope I haven't lost them.

OMG ME TOO TK I HAVE TO PUT THE FITTONIAS BACK WHERE I HAD THEM
THANX WILL THAT INFO HELPS ME BIG TIME

I keep my Coleus in North Bay window in the winter it gets all day sun there. In spring and summer keep them on shelves I have on my porch that is covered with that green see through roofing so they get a filtered afternoon and noon sun. In the morning's they get direct eastern sun then in late morning sun is filtered through tree leaves. They have done well now I see why. I actually did something right <img border="0" alt="[perplexed]" title="" src="graemlins/confused.gif" /> thank you Will Creed now tell me why my coleus lost all their leaves when I put them back out on the porch and put on all new leaves. I had never had that happen before I have had these coleus for years now.
JImmy

Changing the location of the coleus made an immediate difference. The largest one had a definite growth spurt. And a third reared it's little head out of the dirt. That is so cool.

Possibly your fittonia is having problems due to the amount of moving you've been doing. I know with benjamina ficus another low light plant, if you move them, their leaves will turn yellow-brown then fall off... I have a fittonia and it is currently sitting under a 75watt plantlight around 3 feet away and since placing it there it seems to be flourishing... a bulb like this can be found ay such places as home depot or rona/revy stores they cost about $5 depending on where you live, and a fixture is usally cheap... i'll let you know how the plant progresses... remember keep them in a moist area.. maybe a fish tank with rocks and a bit of water in the bottom... fish gravel works best (the white ones reflect light better, they're usually called quartz chips)if you dont have a tank or something similar.... try just using a mist bottle ***WARNING*** SOME plants DONT LIKE HAVING WET LEAVES DO THIS AT OWN RISK*** I'm misting mine lightly but i'm not sure if it respond badly...seems ok so far...

O.K. so it's been about a week under the artificial light... the thing is taking off, tons of new growth and seems to respond nicely to the spray bottle (light misting not direct) do any of you use artificial lighting? maybe the soil type is an issue as well.. you'll want something with a high peat content as they like to keep moisture almost 24/7.. anywho let me know... and i'll keep you posted and dont water everyday maybe every second day...

Hi there, the easiest way to tell if your fittonia is getting enough light is if the leaves are flat or upright. If its flat, its getting enought light. If its upright, then its too dark, will start getting lanky afterwards. I keep mine on the south window sill which doesn't get any direct sun at all and it seems to love it there.

Rgds, Tiffany.

good tip tifflo... mine sort does both.. i have to rotate it once a week as to keep it looking good... it's still doing really well though...

Fittonias need bright light and lots of water. I had a beautiful pink one for several years. I took it to work where it also got very bright southern light. Unfortunately, I took off for a week and forgot to tell anyone that it needed water every day.

When I came back to work, it was dead as a doornail. Fittonias need a lot of sun and one heck of a lot of water. That is the trick to growing them.

Some people grow them under glass because they think that they need that much humidity. They do need humidity but that can be provided by a southern window and plenty of water.

Faizi