The brightness and elegance of cyclamen to the liking of many growers. The plant is pleased with the flowering of its owners in the autumn-winter period. If cyclamen is cultivated, home care will require knowledge of certain nuances.
Appearance story
The cyclamen flower was known in ancient Rome as the decor of the courtyard and home, a remedy for disease and amulets.
The popularity of cyclamen falls on 1939. In Ontario, a Canadian province, Lloyd Veit, a resident of the city of Delhi, opens a small business - a flower shop. Formerly Flowers is today one of the largest flower suppliers in North America.
Cyclamen in the interior of the house
Farmley Flowers is engaged in year-round cultivation of floral products that bloom in the fall with rainbow colors with the advent of graceful cyclamens.
In European countries, cyclamen appears in 1650. This period is characterized by the creation of hardy hybrid varieties and breeding plants everywhere.
On a note. There are cyclamens that look unusual: two-tone, with a border or frill. Breeders successfully work, delighting gardeners with new unusual hybrid varieties.
A variety of varieties delight gardeners
Flowering period
If cyclamen is grown at home, it can bloom magnificently up to 15 years, forming annually about 70 luxurious flowers. The life span of one flower is 10 days. A large number of buds is responsible for the flowering time - several months.
Flowering cyclamen
After withering, the leaves, together with the peduncle, are carefully plucked off the nodule. Cutting is undesirable. Carry out the processing of the break place with charcoal.
The reasons why the leaves of cyclamen turn yellow include harmful insects and phyto-diseases. A close examination will establish the source of ill health. Often, improper care causes the development of rotting, cyclamen attacks with a spider mite. It is important to take action in a timely manner.
Yellowness of cyclamen leaves as a symptom of a disease
Common varieties
The plant belongs to perennials from the family of Primrose. It has 20 species. Cyclamen grows in the wild in forests in southwest Asia, in the central part of Europe, in the Middle East.
In common people, a flower is called a clumsy and pork bread.
The meaning of the latter name is associated with the love of wild boars to feast on cyclamen tubers, digging out of the ground.
Cyclamen is an ephemeroid that blooms for a short time. Then the leaves of the culture dry, and the rest period begins.
Breeders from the Netherlands received many hybrid varieties of Persian cyclamen. Hybrids are characterized by a long flowering period:
- Caliph;
- Lulu;
- Victoria.
There are hybrid varieties of European cyclamen. Demanded by flower growers:
- Purpurascens;
- Album;
- Lake garda;
- Carmineolineatum.
Cyclamen are divided into 3 categories by height:
- standard - about 30 cm;
- medium-sized - up to 20 cm;
- undersized -15 cm.
The following types of crops, which differ in size, color and habitat, are distributed in nature:
- Persian. Distinctive features of the culture: the diameter of the nodule is up to 15 cm, the shape is flat-rounded. Saturated green leaves have a heart shape and a silver pattern. The stem reaches 15-20 cm in height. The flowers are milky, pinkish or red. The length of the elongated petals is 5 cm. The Persian cyclamen blooms from autumn to March, during the summer period it discards foliage. If Persian cyclamen is cultivated at home, care involves reducing watering to a minimum. Eliminate dried flower stalks and leaves. In August, a flower is transplanted into a new pot and systematic watering is carried out. Hybrid plants have been developed for indoor floriculture.
- European. When growing alpine violets (the so-called flower in a different way), the size of the leaves is 3-4 cm. At the bottom of the leaf is a crimson color. The flowers are small, the petals do not exceed 2 cm. The inflorescences have a white, reddish or pinkish tone. The main differences between European cyclamen are the decorative period (May-September), the absence of a state of rest with drying leaves. In the summer season they contain a flower at t = 25 ° C and in the scattered rays of the sun.
European cyclamen
- Cretan. It lives on the island of Crete. Characteristic features are compactness, white-pinkish coloring.
Cretan Cyclamen
- Kossky. It grows in the Caucasus. A tiny 10 cm cyclamen is not afraid of frost and hibernates under the snow. Pinkish-red and white flowers have dark specks at the base of the petals.
- Ivy. In another name Neapolitan. It is characterized by the appearance at first of flowers, then sheets.
- African. Homeland - Tunisia and Algeria. Grows in shrubbery. Leaves are heart-shaped, with a silver-green tint. They grow from a tuber, their length reaches 15 cm. The beginning of flowering falls in the spring, ends in the fall, in addition, new foliage is formed only in September-November. In winter, the plant is sheltered due to low cold resistance.
On a note. African cyclamen contains toxic substances that threaten the health of pets - dogs and cats.
- Caucasian. Culture is actively used in alternative medicine. The medicinal properties of Caucasian cyclamen are noted: it has a positive effect on digestion, returns strength after a cold. It is under state protection, is listed in the Red Book of the Krasnodar Territory.
Agricultural technology
Rest period
When cyclamen is bred, cultivation and care at home do not do without a rest period. With its onset, drying and dying of cyclamen leaves is associated. Inexperienced gardeners often get rid of the plant. They believe that cyclamen is a one-time crop that cannot bloom every year.
It is advisable to reduce the frequency and intensity of humidification. It is recommended to perform the procedure gradually. With complete exposure of crops, watering is rarely and little by little.
When resetting the last flowers, it will be necessary to eliminate the wilted buds and old dried leaves. In spring, they put the culture in a damp place and stop moistening for a while.
When the rest period comes
During the dormant period, cyclamen is stored at home in a different way: when the bush fades, irrigation is reduced, when the foliage dies, the flowerpot is turned 90 °. So the plant is stored until the end of summer or the beginning of the fall season.
When wilted flowers are removed, the flowering time is prolonged, and the formation of new buds is helped. Proper manipulation is required. It is forbidden to pick off, trim old flower stems and foliage. They are twisted around the tuber, carefully, avoiding damage. If damage occurs, they are sprinkled with activated carbon.
Flower transplant
The planned transplantation of cyclamen at home is carried out after 3 years. The procedure is determined by the type of plant: the European species is transplanted with the advent of the spring season, in the fall - Persian. The handling method is suitable for manipulation. Moving the culture into a new pot occurs with an earthen lump that is braided by roots. In a volumetric flowerpot, they only add earth. Remember the drainage layer.
Transshipment - a popular way to transplant cyclamen
If you are transplanting flowers from the store, gently clean the roots of the old soil. Fill a new container with a substrate for bulb crops (Florin, Tulip). Use slightly acidic soil. For a young seedling, a flowerpot is suitable, the diameter of which is 7-8 cm, for three, or a five-year-old flower, 14-15 cm.
The tubers of the European individual are completely covered with soil during planting, Persian - only 2/3. When the soil is of good quality, there is no need to fertilize the crop for 1-2 months.
Temperature
Cyclamen normally grows and blooms luxuriously in the winter, when the temperature is + 10 ... +14 ° C. In the warm season, the ideal temperature for the flower is + 20 ... +25 ° C.
Watering
When leaving, it is important to know how to properly water cyclamen. You will need soft water, which is 2 degrees lower than room temperature. Before watering, they give her a day to stand. Intensive hydration is characteristic of the flowering period.
Prevent drying of the substrate in a pot and stagnation of the liquid. The bottom watering, which is carried out in a pan, is suitable for the plant - moisture will not get on the buds, nodule, bush core. After wetting the culture, after 3 hours, excess liquid is removed from the pan.
Watering cyclamen
When flowering is completed, hydration is reduced. If the leaves fade completely, the tubers are exposed, watering is infrequent and insignificant.
The soil
When planting crops use purchased soil. A universal soil is suitable for geraniums or Saintpaulia.
Soil for cyclamens
The addition of sand and perlite gives friability and moisture capacity. The soil for planting cyclamen is suitable with a neutral or slightly acidic pH level. If desired, it is prepared independently. You will need sheet soil (3 parts) and peat, manure, sand (1 part) taken in equal proportions.
The soil from the site is disinfected by calcining in a microwave oven or by spilling a solution of potassium permanganate. For the drainage layer at the bottom of the tank, expanded clay is used together with gravel and pebbles.
Tanks for cyclamen will be required from ceramic or plastic.
For adults, dishes with 14-15 cm diameter are useful, for young seedlings - less. Choose dishes for the plant, depending on the size of the nodule. From the edge of the bulb to the edge of the flowerpot, the distance is 2 cm. This will provide the indoor plant with optimal development and timely flowering.
Lighting
If cyclamen is grown, how to care properly, suggest tips. To fully develop, culture requires light. Direct sunlight is often a threat to the plant. A window sill is suitable in the west or east. When placed on the south side for the flower, it is preferable to place further from the window or shading. The north side is an inappropriate place for cyclamen.
Breeding techniques
Tubers
Before propagation, the flower tuber must be dried. When the incision is important, the location on each lobe of the root along with the kidneys and leaves. The place of cutting is greased with brilliant green or sprinkled with activated charcoal, then allot time for drying (2 days).
Tuber propagation, treatment with green
They carry out the landing of parts in moistened ground, put in a lit place and ensure regular watering. Adaptability is not 100%, part of the deletion rots.
Seeds
Stock up on seed material from indoor cyclamen will allow artificial pollination. The manipulation is effective in the implementation of a sunny morning, in addition to repeated repetition.
Seed production
Attention! Seed drying after harvesting negatively responds to germination. The quality of the seeds that are on sale depends directly on the batch.
Before planting in the soil, the seed material is soaked for 24 hours in Zircon (4 drops per 500 ml of liquid). To grow seedlings, you need a light loose soil. Under the soil, a container with holes at the bottom is needed. First, a 3 cm expanded clay layer is poured. Cooked soil is poured on top (6-7 cm). The earth is abundantly wetted. Spread the seed on the surface in increments of 2 cm, sprinkle a little with the ground. The container is covered with a film. Sprouts are expected from 1 to 3 months.
Cyclamen sprouts
The soil needs watering and airing. First, a purple-pink nodule forms on the surface. When growing a couple of leaves, dive seedlings and resettlement in an individual dish. After 7-14 days, it is advisable to feed with complex fertilizer. Cyclamen blooms await the year. Flowers cultivated at home are distinguished by stamina and health, compared with purchased individuals.
If cyclamens are grown, competent care is required. Familiarization with the description of the flower and the nuances of cultivation and reproduction will help beginners to decorate the interior of the house and maintain its decorative effect for a long time.
