Cyclamen - a flower of the sun

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The popularity of cyclamen - this lovely flowering plant - has only recently increased. In room culture, two types are more common than others: Persian cyclamen and European cyclamen. Both conquer with beautiful original flowers. Persian cyclamen blooms in winter, when few plants delight with bright flowering. About how to care for cyclamen at home - our article.

Content:

Description of cyclamen plant
Cyclamen Care at Home
Cyclamen propagation
Diseases and pests of cyclamen

Description of cyclamen plant

Rod Cyclamen (Cyclamen), or Dryakva, or Alpine violet from the Mirsinovy family (Myrsinaceae), sometimes referred to as the family Primrose (Primulaceae) and includes about 20 species.

Species of the genus Cyclamen - perennial herbaceous plants, common in the Mediterranean; from Spain in the west to Iran in the east, as well as in Northeast Africa, including Somalia.

Basal dark green leathery heart-shaped cyclamen leaves are located on petioles up to 30 cm long and have a decorative grayish-silver pattern.

Cyclamen flowers are very original: pointed, curved back, sometimes fringed petals give the impression that a flock of exotic butterflies is circling above the plant.

The color palette of cyclamens is very wide: hybrids with snow-white flowers are bred, the whole gamut of pink shades to dark red, burgundy, violet. Flowering cyclamen lasts quite a long time, up to 3.5 months. Depending on the variety and indoor conditions, flowering can begin from the second half of October and last until the end of March.

Very often, cyclamens are referred to as capricious and complex plants in culture. In fact, cyclamen is unpretentious, and the few requirements that it makes in culture can be very easily satisfied.

Cyclamen Care at Home

Lighting and temperature

Cyclamens are photophilous, but do not tolerate direct sunlight. Keep them better in partial shade. They grow well on the windowsills of the western and eastern windows. South windows will require shading from direct sunlight. The windows of the northern exposure may not have enough light for the plants.

A necessary condition for the normal development of cyclamens and their abundant flowering is a light and cool content in winter (about 10 ° C, not higher than 12-14 ° C). In summer, a temperature in the region of 18-25 ° C is preferable (a pot with a plant can be taken out into a shady place and dug up).

Watering and spraying

During flowering, the plant is watered abundantly or moderately, with soft, defended water, preventing both overmoistening and over-drying of the earthen coma. Cyclamen should be watered carefully, to the edge of the pot, trying not to soak the buds and tuber, and even better - from the pallet.

Water must not be allowed to enter the core of the plant - tuber may rot. Water temperature should be 2-4 ° C below room temperature. After 1-2 hours, excess water is drained from the saucer so that the roots do not rot. After flowering, cyclamen watering is gradually reduced, and by the beginning of summer, when all the leaves turn yellow and dry, and the tubers remain bare, they are watered completely.

Before buds appear, plants are sprayed from time to time. With the advent of buds, spraying cyclamen should be stopped, otherwise they may rot. To increase humidity, the plant can be placed on a pallet with wet moss, expanded clay or pebbles. In this case, the bottom of the pot should not touch the water. It is better to use rainwater, filtered or sedimented water.

Top dressing

In the period of growth of leaf mass before flowering, plants are fed every 2 weeks with full mineral fertilizer. Cyclamens respond well to organic fertilizers. You can not give a lot of nitrogen fertilizers - they can rot the tuberous roots.

Care for the flowerpot at rest

Flowering cyclamen continues for quite some time. Depending on the variety and room conditions, it can start from the second half of October and last until the end of March. In spring, at the end of flowering, the plants go into a dormant state (they begin to lose leaves). In this regard, watering is gradually reduced, and by the beginning of summer, when all the leaves turn yellow and dry, and the tubers remain bare, they are watered completely.

The room where the plants are located is regularly ventilated. Better still, take pots with tubers for this time in the garden or on the balcony in a place protected from the sun. After a period of rest (end of summer - beginning of autumn) cyclamen put on a bright, cool place and watering is gradually increased.

Another option for preserving the tuber until the new winter season is as follows. After flowering, watering is significantly reduced. Then, after the leaves fall, the cyclamen pot is laid on its side and in this position is maintained until the next season.

Cyclamen grows 10-15 years and can produce up to 70 flowers annually. As the flowers wither and the leaves turn yellow, they are plucked (but not cut) from the tuber itself. Place the gap should be well sprinkled with charcoal powder.

Cut (pulled out) cyclamen flowers stand well in water (1-2 weeks). Water in a vase needs to be changed after 2-3 days. After the cut, the ends of the peduncles are cut lengthwise for 2-3 days. This lengthens the standing time in the cut up to 2-3 weeks.

Transfer

In late summer and autumn, when small heart-shaped leaves begin to sprout from cyclamen tuber, the plants are brought into the room and transplanted into a wide bowl with a fresh loose mixture of leafy soil, humus, peat and sand (2-3: 1: 1: 1).

The substrate may consist of 2 parts of leaf, 1 part of well decomposed humus soil and 0.5 part of sand. The acidity of the substrate (pH) should be about 5.5-6. At a higher pH (about 7), plants become susceptible to various fungal diseases.

In the process of transplantation, cyclamen is monitored so as not to damage the roots, and rotten roots are cut out. For 1 kg of substrate, you can add 0.4 g of ammonium nitrate, 1 g of superphosphate, 4 g of phosphate rock.

Please note that when transplanting, you can not completely deepen the tuber. One third or even half of the tuber should be above the soil surface, which will favorably affect the further flowering of the plant. At the bottom of the pot provide good drainage.

Cyclamen propagation

Propagating cyclamen at home is quite difficult. Lovers usually resort to dividing the tuber. You can also grow it from seeds, but flowering will have to wait longer.

To obtain good full-fledged cyclamen seeds at home, artificial (preferably cross) pollination is necessary. Using a soft brush, take pollen from the flower of one plant and transfer the pistil of another to the stigma. If there is one plant, then pollen from one flower is transferred to the stigma of another. This procedure is repeated 2-3 times for greater reliability.

The best time for pollination of cyclamen is the morning hours of a clear sunny day, since in this case the ovaries form more quickly. At this time, it would be good to feed the plants with potassium phosphate fertilizers (1 g of superphosphate and 0.5 g of potassium sulfate per 1 liter of water). Seeds must not be dried after harvesting, otherwise the germination will greatly decrease.

Cyclamen seeds are often commercially available, but they are significantly less reliable than their own. Their germination rate strongly depends not so much on the manufacturer, but on the batch of seeds.

The optimal time for sowing Persian cyclamen seeds is August, since it has a dormant period in summer.

Before sowing cyclamen seeds can be poured with a 5% sugar solution and take only those that have sunk to the bottom (floaters are not suitable). Also, seeds are soaked in a zircon solution for a day.

The substrate is light, for example, they mix sheet soil and peat in a ratio of 1: 1, or peat and vermiculite (1: 1).

Cyclamen seeds are laid out on the surface of a moistened substrate and sprinkled with a thin layer of earth (0.5 - 1 cm). Light is not needed for seed germination, so they can be covered with an opaque film. The optimum temperature for germination is + 20 ° C, if it is higher, then the germination is inhibited and the seeds can fall into hibernation. You can also not lower the temperature below + 18 ° C, as the seeds simply rot at this temperature. It is necessary to monitor the moisture content of the soil and periodically ventilate the container with seeds.

Usually at a temperature of + 20 ° C, seedlings of cyclamen appear after 30-40 days. After the seedlings sprout, remove the shading, place in a well-lit place, without direct sunlight, and lower the temperature to + 15-17 ° C.

When cyclamen seedlings form small nodules with two or three leaves (approximately in December), they are dived in a container with a mixture of sheet soil, peat and sand (2: 1: 0.5). When picking, the nodules are covered with earth, while in adult cyclamen the top of the tuber is usually not covered.

A week after the pick, they can be fed with flower fertilizers in a diluted half dose. You can feed with 0.2% (2 g / l) solution of ammonium sulfate, and after another 10 days - 0.1% (1 g / l) potassium nitrate. In April-May, they are transplanted into individual pots.

Cyclamen grown from seeds bloom 13-15 months after sowing.

Diseases and pests of cyclamen

Fusarium wilt

Fusarium is a fungal disease caused by the Fusarium fungus; under its influence, the vascular system and plant tissues are affected. The disease has several names: “drying out”, “core rot”, “dry rot”.

With fusarium wilting, lesions and death of plants occur due to a sharp violation of vital functions due to clogging of the vessels with mycelium of the fungus and the release of toxic substances to them. Pathogens persist for a long time in the soil and on plant debris, enter the plants through the root system and the lower part of the stem.

Symptoms: externally, the disease manifests itself in yellowing of the leaves, which begins with the tops. Often yellowing and wilting of leaves occurs on one side of the plant. The second side of cyclamen can continue to grow, but it is difficult to wait for a good flowering from such a plant. The fungus penetrates the plant through young roots and spreads through the tuber. Affected tissues are destroyed; the general appearance of the plant is deteriorating. In the tuber section, the affected vascular bundles are visible.

Control measures: watering the plants under the root with foundationazole (0.1%), spraying the aerial mass with topsin-M (0.1%).

Wet rot

This is a very dangerous bacterial disease. Caused by Erwinia.

Symptoms: the disease begins with the fact that the plant suddenly withers, leaves and peduncles hang from the pot, an unpleasant putrefactive odor from the infected tuber appears. The roots of cyclamen also begin to rot. The bacterium enters the plant through cracks and wounds on the tuber or vegetative organs. Often, cyclamen infection occurs at the sites of separation of leaves or peduncles. The source of infection is contaminated water or a diseased plant. The emergence of the disease contributes to warm and humid weather in the summer when keeping cyclamens in the garden, on the balcony, on the loggia.

Control measures: does not exist, cyclamen is subject to destruction in order to prevent disease of other plants.

Gray rot

The fungus Botrytis cinerea affects plants weakened due to poor location, it is especially dangerous in damp and cold air. Spores of the fungus are spread by wind and water. Infection occurs at high humidity, a high density of cyclamen and cold night content. Contributing to the development of this disease in a plant is improper watering, water entering the “growth point” of leaves and buds.

Symptoms: gray mold appears on the leaves and stems of cyclamen, which takes off with strong air movement; the affected parts of the plant darken and die. Peduncles are especially susceptible to this disease. Cyclamen leaves turn yellow and die.

Control measures: Carefully remove affected parts of the plant. Ventilate the room, but avoid drafts. Spray cyclamen less often, water less (it is better - in the morning, so that the soil has time to dry out during the day). A diseased plant is treated with a systemic fungicide.

Root rot

Root rot is caused by various fungi (Rhizoctonia solani, Ramularia cyclaminicola); pathogens live in the soil. The disease occurs when cyclamen is planted in ordinary garden soil that has not been steamed. The disease often attacks young cyclamens, slowing their growth.

Symptoms: Dark nonviable areas appear on the roots of young and adult cyclamens. Symptoms appear on the leaflets, as if there is not enough chlorophyll in them: the leaflets fade, as they lack nutrition due to damaged roots.

Control measures: Use only sterilized soil for planting cyclamens. If cyclamen is sick, try to shed the earth with a systemic fungicide. But this measure is not always effective; most likely cyclamen to save, most likely, will not succeed. You may need to part with your pet. Adult cyclamen can be tried to save. It must be removed from the pot, rinsed and removed damaged roots, then treated with fungicide and planted in a steamed earth mixture.

Anthracnose

Called by a fungus of the genus Gloeosporium. This is a soil fungus that harms cyclamen during flowering. The disease develops in warm and humid conditions.

Symptoms: The growth zone of leaves and peduncles is affected. The disease may go unnoticed for a while until cyclamen releases the peduncles. The affected peduncles cease to develop, look distorted, the upper part of the peduncles, as it were, dries up. Flowering does not occur, since peduncles do not develop. From contact with infected peduncles, leaf infection occurs. Young leaves dry and twist around the edges, old leaves dry and die.

Control measures: Use steamed earth to prevent disease. When symptoms appear, try to maintain a relatively low level of humidity. Remove damaged peduncles and leaves. Treat the diseased plant with fungicides 2-3 times.

Soot fungus

Symptoms black fungus appears on the sweetish discharge that leaves on the leaves of aphids. An ugly-looking plaque of the fungus itself is not dangerous for the plant, but it clogs the stomata and covers the leaf surface from light, as a result of which growth slows down and the plant weakens. Affected leaves dry out over time, if you do not take the necessary measures.

Control measures: soot deposits are washed off with a wet cloth moistened with a 2% solution of green soap, followed by treatment with a copper-soap solution, then the plant is washed with clean warm water. You can treat cyclamen fungicide.