Growing Cyclamen At Home: Care, Reproduction, Pests And Diseases

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

"Butterflies" on the windowsill. Part 2

Read the first part of the article - Growing cyclamen at home: types of cyclamen, growing rules

Step three - leaving

At first it may seem that there are many difficulties in caring for a cyclamen. But from my own experience I will say: if you adhere to the basic rules, then it will not be difficult to grow a cyclamen.

The temperature regime must be maintained quite strictly. The optimal range for cyclamen is 12 … 15 ° C. Small deviations are allowed, but not lower than 10 ° С and not higher than 17 ° С. This can be achieved by placing the cyclamen in a cool corner of the apartment on the windowsill where ventilation is more often carried out (cyclamen is not afraid of weak drafts, on the contrary). If the cyclamen is kept at a higher temperature, its leaves quickly turn yellow and die off, and the flowering becomes less abundant.

The location of the cyclamen should be very bright, bright diffused light is preferred, but without direct sunlight. For example, I grow cyclamen on a northeast exposure window, and since the yard is large, there is enough diffused and reflected light for normal growth. Large trees grow in front of the windows - and in winter there is enough light, and as soon as it gets warmer, natural shading occurs from the blossoming leaves. If you are not so lucky with the window - in late spring, start shading the cyclamen with at least a piece of paper.

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Watering cyclamen also has its own subtleties. During flowering, regular watering is required, preferably by immersion - that is, the pot is placed in cool water for several minutes (but so that the water does not overflow into the pot). You can pour water into the sump. When watering from above, you must ensure that water does not fall on the tuber and leaves - it is better to pour it on the very edge of the pot. Water splashing on leaves can lead to powdery mildew.

Air humidity is also of great importance. It is best to put the pot on a tray with pebbles or wet peat. Spraying cyclamen is not worth it - this can lead to spots on the leaves (with high humidity, gray rot develops), but you can only humidify the air around the plant from a very small spray bottle. I have a small aquarium near the cyclamen at home, and its vapors moisturize the air well.

After flowering, all peduncles should be cut to the tuber itself, and watering should be reduced. All yellowed leaves must be cut off along with the petioles. In the Persian cyclamen, it is better to remove old peduncles and leaves by twisting them together with cuttings - this will prevent the penetration of diseases into the plant.

By spring, the remaining leaves will dry out completely - this means that the plant goes into a dormant state. Watering should then be stopped and the pot should be placed in a cool place (not higher than 16 … 18 ° C) until mid-summer. In July, it is optimal to place the pot in a shaded place in the fresh air, and periodically moisten the ground (but avoid heavy watering). When the first leaves appear, it is time to transplant the plant again.

It should be remembered that not all cyclamens completely lose their leaves during dormancy. It happens that the leaves remain partially, but the cyclamen does not grow. In this case, it is watered, but very rarely, so that the soil just does not dry out completely and is slightly damp. The lighting should be slightly shaded, that is, the plant does not need to be removed to a dark place. With the appearance of new leaves and the beginning of growth, watering is increased, and the plant can be rearranged to a brighter place.

A month after the transplant, the cyclamen can be fed. Standard liquid fertilizer mixtures are suitable (it is better to dilute them twice as much as indicated in the instructions). Top dressing is carried out once a month until the end of flowering. For the rest period, feeding is completely stopped.

Step four - reproduction of cyclamen

Sooner or later, either the cyclamen will grow, or you yourself will want to experiment with it. The easiest way to reproduce is to divide the cyclamen tuber. European cyclamen is most conveniently propagated by dividing the tuber. This operation is performed when the plant is at rest. You need to dig out the tuber, rinse in a pink solution of potassium permanganate and divide it into several parts with a knife. Each part must have at least one kidney and a bottom part. Then the sections should dry out a little (you can sprinkle them with crushed coal or grease them with brilliant green), after which the plant is ready for planting in fresh soil. The tuber section should be 1/3 above the soil level.

You can also grow cyclamen from seeds. This is easier to do if you have a indoor greenhouse. If not, it is imperative to cover the container with crops with glass, maintaining the temperature at 18 … 20 ° C. Growing from seeds has its advantages: the resulting cyclamens are more adapted to indoor conditions than specimens grown in Dutch greenhouses. The seeds of the European, Persian and Neapolitan cyclamen are sown at the end of August at a temperature of 15 … 20 ° C, the seeds of the Kos cyclamen are sown in January-February. Most varieties of cyclamen bloom in 15-18 months, miniature forms in 6-8 months.

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Step five - protection from diseases and pests

If you strictly follow the rules described above, then problems with diseases and pests, most likely, will not arise at all. However, just in case, you need to keep in mind that cyclamens are sensitive to fungal diseases. If there are signs of gray rot or powdery mildew, treat the plant with a fungicide and carefully monitor the moisture regime.

The most common pests on cyclamen are cyclamen mites, aphids and thrips. Sometimes already infected specimens are on sale, so if you already have a small collection of cyclamens, each new plant should be quarantined for at least two weeks. If pests are found, then the affected parts of the plant should be removed, and the rest should be washed with an insecticide (in an apartment, the use of insecticidal soap for pets is justified).

Subject to all the rules of keeping, cyclamens can give several dozen flowers annually for many years, delighting you every winter with their beauty.