Nerve Plant (Fittonia Albivenis) Grow & Care Tips

Nerve Plant (Fittonia Albivenis) is a kind of foliage plant. The veins of the Nerve Plant are white, just like white nets. Nerve Plant is originated in the Andes Mountains, Colombia, Peru and other regions of South America. It is a tropical plant of the rainforest. The white veins of the Nerve Plant are very obvious and they look very special.

Nerve Plant Care Quick Info

Botanical/Scientific Name	Fittonia Albivenis
Common Name	White Nerve Plant, Mosaic Plant
When to Grow/Bloom/Harvest	Grow in late spring or early summer
Uses	Hanging baskets, container gardens, and terrariums
Origin	Tropical rainforest in South America, mainly Peru
Light Care	Partial to full shade to flourish
Soil Care	Well-drained moist soil
Temperature Care	60-70 degree F
Humidity Care	Between 50-70%
Watering	Water moderately and let growing
Pruning Care	Be pruned for optimal growth
Fertilizer Care	Houseplant fertilizer diluted to half-strength every month
Propagation	By taking stem or leaf cuttings
Toxic	Nerve Plant is non-toxic to cats and dogs
Flower Color	Yellowish-white, Reddish

Where to Grow Nerve Plant

Nerve Plant (Fittonia Albivenis) adds a pretty decorative touch to any spot where you place it indoors. It looks pretty in hanging baskets, makes a nice table plant and also is the perfect choice for terrariums.
Grow this pink variegated variety of nerve plant in plant pots that showcase the color of the leaves. I chose a neon green outer pot that highlights the underside of the leaves but it would also look really pretty in a bright pink pot.

How to Grow Nerve Plant

Nerve Plant Propagation with Seeds

Some varieties of Fittonia will produce flowers, but the primary reason for growing these plants is their delightful foliage. Whilst it is possible to grow new nerve plants from seed, the delay when compared to growing from cuttings just doesn’t make the effort seem worthwhile. Also, you need to consider the fact that many of these plants are cultivars and new plants may not come true to form. In other words, the new seedlings may not produce all of the same characteristics that the parent plant offered.

Nerve Plant Propagation with Stem Cuttings

• Preparing Your Cuttings

Take a careful look at the nerve plant from which you intend to take cuttings.
You are looking for healthy shoots with plenty of vigorous growth.
Longer stems are preferable, as you will strip the bottom few leaves from the cutting.
With scissors or sharp pruners, snip off enough for your purposes but not so many as to leave the Nerve Plant parent plant looking too denuded.
Remove the leaves from the bottom inch (2.5cm) of the stem.
In the case of cuttings with many leaves, remove excess leaves so that you are left with just one or two leaf pairs at the tip of the stem. This will reduce the risk of excess transpiration causing the cutting to wilt.

• Propagating Nerve Plants In Soil

Prepare a number of small plant pots or seed trays for your cuttings. A general-purpose houseplant potting mix or combination of 2/3 peat with 1/3 perlite is a good option.
Pre-soak the potting mix so it is lightly moist.
Make small holes about half an inch deep for your cuttings in the potting mix with a pencil or skewer.
You may wish to dip the cuttings in rooting hormone. This can increase the propagation success rate but isn’t essential.
Gently insert each Nerve Plant cutting into the potting mix and firm it around the base of the stem.
Cover each pot with a glass jar or plastic bag to create a highly humid environment. This will help reduce water loss and wilting and improve the chance of your plants rooting successfully.
Place your cuttings in a bright, warm location, out of direct sunlight.
Check your cuttings every few days to ensure the soil remains lightly moist.
If you see any mold developing on the soil surface or leaves, leave the plant open to the air to reduce the humidity level.
Your Nerve Plant will develop strong roots and start producing new foliage within about 4 weeks.

Nerve Plant Propagation with Leaf Cuttings

An individual leaf can be propagated in water or soil, but the success rate is lower than using a stem cutting. Make sure to cut the petiole where it meets the stem to make it easier to plant in soil or position when water propagating of Nerve Plant.
In the case of an individual leaf, you can simply hang it on the edge of a small glass container so that the stem is immersed in water. Alternatively, gently insert the cut end of the petiole into the soil and treat the same as a cutting planted in soil.
Read Next: Fittonia Albivenis (Nerve plant) Propagation

How to Care for Nerve Plant

Nerve Plant Light Requirement

As natives to rainforest ground floor, the Nerve Plant is not used to direct sunlight. In the wild, these plants are covered by dense canopies and larger plants. Provide them with lots of bright indirect light, and they will thrive. Nerve Plants do tolerate lower light, too; however, they will lose some of the vibrant colors. If they do not get enough light they will become leggy as they stretch their stems and move the leaves towards the source of light.
This fact makes the Nerve Plant highly sensitive to strong sunlight. This makes it a problem if your windows get a lot of direct afternoons sun.
A bit of morning sun will work wonders and help your plant grow well. fittonias also react well to artificial grow lights and will still thrive well.
Although not too serious, Nerve Plant react negatively to too little sun. There have been reports that some variants can revert to becoming green or have paler colors if the amount of light is inadequate.
Read More:
 How Much Light Does Nerve Plant Need?

Nerve Plant Soil Care

The Nerve Plant likes the same sort of soil as African violets. Purchase or create a light peat or coco coir-based mixture that retains moisture well.
Read More:
What Is The Best Soil For Nerve Plant?

Nerve Plant Watering

Your Nerve Plant loves water and to be consistently moist, but not soggy. Water thoroughly when the top 25% of soil is dry. If you let your Nerve Plant dry out too much, it will let you know with limp leaves. Not to worry! After a thorough watering, the leaves should soon perk up.
Read More:
How To Water Nerve Plant?

Temperature and Humidity

Nerve Plant love high, constant humidity and a high temperature. In fact, they can be pretty sensitive to it. They can be grown as a houseplant under the right conditions, but do much better in a sealed terrarium container.

Nerve Plant Fertilizer

During its growing season, feed Nerve Plants weekly with a weak dose of liquid fertilizer formulated for tropical plants. A balanced 5-5-5 fertilizer diluted to half strength is a good formulation.

Nerve Plant Pruning

To promote the growth of dense, lush foliage, regularly prune your Nerve Plant. The most important pruning tip for Nerve Plant is to pinch off the ends of growing stems. By pruning the plant like this, you avoid legginess and you obtain an attractive specimen.
Some people also advise removing flower spikes. Although Nerve Plants produce flowers, these are discreet compared to their spectacular leaves that have colorful patterns. Pinching off the flowers encourages your fittonia to focus on growing its sumptuous foliage.
But, if you want, you can allow your Nerve Plant to flower and enjoy its delicate bloomings. (Read More about Nerve Plant blooming.)

Nerve Plant Pests & Diseases

Many of the problems associated with Nerve Plant are the same ones that can affect other tropical houseplants:
Nerve Plant curling or yellow leaves are the result of too much water.1 Use a pot with drainage holes to prevent soggy soil.
Leaf drop is usually the result of cold temperatures or drafts. Try to mimic the tropical conditions where this species naturally grows.
Dry, shriveled leaves usually indicate that the plants are not receiving enough humidity, or are receiving too much direct sun. Use a room humidifier in winter when humidity levels can drop significantly. Keep your Nerve Plant out of direct sunlight.
Insect problems include fungus gnats, mealy bugs, or aphids.3 Infestations should be treated immediately, and keep affected plants isolated to prevent the bugs from spreading to other indoor plants.

Varieties of Fittonia Plant

There are a wide variety of fittonia plant cultivars that provide a wonderful assortment of different sizes and leaf coloring patterns to choose from:
Black Star mosaic plants feature foliage that shows off the dark green color of the leaves with fewer deep red veins than there are on other fittonia varieties.
Frankie Fittonia Albivenis are distinctive for their pretty pink leaves with dark green edges.
White Anne foliage has bold white veins that stand out against the dark green leaf color.
Juanita is a large-leaf fittonia variety with intricate bright red veining.
White Brocade is similar to Juanita, except that its large leaves have white veins.
Purple Vein is another large-leaf variety that’s light-lavender colored veins contrast beautifully against the dark green leaves.
Pink Angel is a compact fittonia variety with small, intensely pink leaves.
Ruby Red fittonia plants feature richly variegated foliage that's dark green with richly red colored veins.
Mini White nerve plants are small in size, featuring dainty green leaves with white veins.

Why is Fittonia Albivenis Called Nerve Plant?

The bright veins – which can be silver, white, light green, or pink – look like nerves running through the plant's dark green leaves. This unique appearance led to Fittonia Albivenis' common name of nerve plant. It's a gorgeous, tropical houseplant prized for its foliage.
Read More:
Why Does My Nerve Plant Drooping?