I always like a variety of lace as accents in my clothes, linens, table-runners or doilies, etc. And it’s no different in plants; I’m attracted to foliage with lacy veining such as the Fittonia verschaffeltii. Its scientific name is quite tongue-twisting to pronounce; to make it simpler,I simply called it as Fittonia or Nerve Plant. It is also artistically referred to as the Mosaic Plant or Painted Net Leaf due to the tile-like or net-like pattern in its leaves.
This creeping plants are perfect for dish gardens or terrariums especially with three varieties of Nerve Plants combined. Fittonia verschaffeltii plants have oval leaves about 3 inches long; the dull green leaves have red veins (see top picture). Fittonia verschaffeltii pearcei have bright green leaves with rose-pink veins. A word of advice: Don’t plant this next to white-veined variety for the color of the veins may turned up into a lighter pink. That is what happened to my pink-veined Fittonia (see the photo above.)
Fittonia verschaffeltii argyroneura plants have rich emerald-green leaves with interconnecting white veins; the foliage of this variety are somewhat firm and thinner than the red-veined or pink-veined varieties. When matured, these plants produce sterile yellow flowers (see the photo below). And since these plants don’t grow from seeds, the best thing to do to multiply them is by separating the young shoots that have rooted in soil from the mother plant.
My Fittonias are outdoor plants. So, I potted them in sandy-loam soil and put them in areas with high humidity. They best thrive in moist soil, and they also require complete fertilizer twice a month. I could say that Nerve Plants are easy to care.
Mama Nene's Garden 