All about growing cyclamen at home

In winter, when nature freezes in a thoughtful numbness, and around there is only cold and snowy emptiness, an amazing plant comes to life. Its flowers bloom with bright tropical butterflies on the windowsills of our houses. This is how it demonstrates its beauty, strength and contempt for the element of home cyclamen - a plant that is fraught with many secrets and mysteries. They appreciate it for the delicate silk of light petals, delicate aroma and special healing properties. But few people know that the tubers of flowers are fraught with the strongest poison that can kill a living being. So what is it: the gift of the gods or the tricks of the devil? Let's try to figure it out.

What is cyclamen

Cyclamen is a perennial herb belonging to the primroses family. Its name came from the Greek language and in translation means "circle", hinting at the shape of rather large tubers. In the wild, these fantastic flowers can be found in Central Europe, Mediterranean countries, Iran, North Africa, the Caucasus and Crimea. They surprisingly adapt to life in rather harsh conditions. Forest "dwellers" get used to the semi-darkness, and those who live on bare rocky rocks receive nutrients from tubers, moisture - from the air.

Man always wanted to "tame" this beauty, so plants gradually migrated to gardens and homes, brightening up the gray gloom of our everyday life.

Most of the domestic species originated from Persian cyclamen and has the following characteristic features:

• the height of the bush ranges from 8 to 30 centimeters;
• rather large (up to 15 cm) basal leaves are heart-shaped, painted in dark green with the finest silvery pattern;
• thin long peduncles rise above the leaves (up to 30 at a time);
• flowers of unusual shape are located on them, with gracefully inverted five petals and drooping heads;
• the variety of colors amazes even the most sophisticated gardeners: from white to purple shades, petals come with velvety, rimmed or smooth edges.

Advice

When dealing with a plant, you need to take special care, since the leaves and tubers are very poisonous. Keep animals and children away from the flower!

As soon as the people do not call cyclamen: "alpine violet" - for the beauty of flowers and delicate aroma, "earthen bread" - for extraordinary popularity among wild pigs digging the ground in search of delicacies. And even a "grubby" (translated from Polish - antidote) - for the ability to neutralize snake venom.

Plant life cycle

All types of Persian cyclamens are ephemeroids. This mystical name was given to perennials with a short growing season. Such specimens grow and bloom 3-4 months a year, in the most favorable autumn-winter period for them. The rest of the time they are at rest.

It is possible to determine that the life cycle of a plant is slowing down by the following signs:

• flowering stops;
• leaves begin to turn yellow and fall off;
• the tuber may crack due to an excess of accumulated nutrients.

Advice

The spoiled flowers and leaves must be removed, but not cut off, but unscrewed from the tuber without residue in order to avoid decay.

How to care for a sleeping cyclamen? The plant should be kept in a cool, dark place, without stopping to moisten the soil.Closer to autumn, as soon as new leaves become noticeable, the pot must be exposed again to the light and watering increased - by December the cyclamen will bloom again.

Many gardeners artificially shorten the dormant period by limiting watering and breaking off remaining leaves and buds. This should not be done, since the consequences of such actions are unpredictable: from disruption of the life cycle to the death of the plant.

Plant species

For the first time, the cyclamen was grown at home by the French back in 1731. Many years have passed since then. All these years, breeders did not sit idle, creating more and more potted plant varieties, differing in size, leaf shape and color. Today there are more than 50 of them.

• "Victoria" - a very unpretentious look, loved by flower growers for the beauty of snow-white flowers, bordered with a velvety crimson border.
• "Rococo" - the whimsical waves of swirling edges of bright pink petals really resemble elements of the well-known architectural style of the mid-18th century.
• "Barbarossa" - differs in the original form of flowers. The center of each petal is decorated with a fluffy feather, which gives the plant some extravagance and mystery. The color is varied, but light and dark pink shades are most often found.
• "Aneli" - a miniature specimen with snow-white petals on long arrows. The center of each flower is enlivened by a bright purple eye - elegantly and with great taste!
• "Neapolitan" - a completely unpredictable appearance: first red buds appear, and only after that leaves with an exquisite silvery pattern.
• "Pink carousel" - striped bracts adorn a very large pink flower, curved in the shape of a bowl.

Advice

If you want to enjoy the beauty of the flowering cyclamen in the warm season, get a European look. This specimen is smaller than the Persian one, but it is less demanding in care and belongs to spring flowering.

How to choose a flower in a store

Do you still have cyclamen in your collection? Then hurry to the flower shop. But don't take the first plant you see. Please inspect it carefully before purchasing, assessing the condition:

• the whole bush as a whole - density, absence of damage and pests speak of the health of the plant;
• leaves - they should be strong, elastic, brightly colored, with a clear pattern, without spots and dried tips;
• tuber - part of it should come to the surface and not have any plaque, mucus or signs of rot;
• buds - the more there are, the longer the flowering period will last.

Advice

The condition of the root system can be determined by looking into the drainage holes of the pot. Mold, damp and rotten odors are bad signs.

If it is frosty outside, then the flower is transported carefully, wrapped in newspaper and placed in a plastic bag. At home, the plant is not immediately unpacked - the bush should stand for an hour in the cool, away from heating appliances, and adapt to new conditions.

Growing at home: choosing a place for cyclamen

This plant is a real long-liver. Under natural growing conditions, the flower can delight owners for up to 20 years. In nature, he lives in rather harsh highland conditions. This is worth remembering when choosing a place for a home copy.

• It is best to leave the pot in a well-lit place, out of direct sunlight. Shrinking leaves, excessively elongated and thin peduncles, faded petals are the first signs of a lack of sunlight.
• The room must be cool. During the period of growth and flowering, the temperature is up to 15 ⁰C prolongs the life of the plant, and a higher one stops the laying of buds and provokes the shedding of leaves. A closed balcony or loggia will be the best solution to the problem.
• Drafts and sudden changes in temperature often cause flower disease.
• 50% is the optimum air humidity for cyclamen. A higher one leads to decay and fungal diseases, a lower one - contributes to infection with a spider mite. You can maintain the necessary parameters by constantly humidifying the air around the plant.

Advice

It is not recommended to spray the cyclamen itself: moisture, getting on the petals and leaves, under the influence of sunlight can provoke their burns and wilting. And wetting the tuber is fraught with the development of rot.

This plant is a real fighter for a healthy lifestyle - it does not tolerate tobacco smoke at all, and also feels uncomfortable next to a gas stove.

How to water and feed

Alpine violet is a capricious and fickle lady. She does not tolerate cold water from the tap, preferring clean, well-settled and always soft.

The intensity of watering varies depending on the period of the plant's life. During flowering, the rules are as follows.

1. Do not allow the soil to dry out, but also do not flood the plant. Cyclamen is easier to tolerate dry than oversaturation with moisture.
2. Water at regular intervals, approximately once every three days.
3. Make sure that no water gets on the flowers, leaves and tubers on the surface. Therefore, it is best to moisten the soil at the edge of the pot using a long-nosed watering can.
4. Any excess water that will collect in the pan of the pot in an hour must be drained.
5. Periodic loosening of the soil will increase its permeability and save the plant from decay.

Advice

You can water the cyclamen by immersion. For this, a pot with cyclamen is placed in a shallow container filled with settled water at room temperature. The soil is quickly saturated with moisture through the drainage holes.

During the dormant period, the intensity of watering must be reduced: once every two weeks will be quite enough for a dormant plant. But in no case should you completely stop moisturizing: overdried tubers will crack, which will lead to disease or even death of the plant.

Experts recommend using fertilizers only during the growth and flowering of the plant. It is better if it is feeding with a high potassium content. They should be brought in once every two weeks, keeping in mind the basic rules.

• Excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizers leads to overgrowth of leaves and prevents budding.
• For young plants, an aqueous solution of ammonium sulfate, diluted in a proportion of 2 grams per 1 liter of water, is recommended.
• You can start feeding only after the sprouts appear, subject to the absolute health of the plant.
• The special soil already contains fertilizers, so no additional fertilizing is required.

Advice

For cyclamen, you can use fertilizers intended for flowering plants, such as "Ideal" or "Kemira-Lux". Mineral dressings can be alternated with organic ones, using an infusion of chicken manure or mullein.

Reproduction by dividing the tuber

This propagation method is ideal for overgrown plants and makes it possible to see the first flowers as early as six months after planting. The process, although laborious, is quite simple:

1. during the dormant period, we extract the tuber from the ground;
2. dry it thoroughly;
3. we divide with a knife into several parts so that each has at least one bud and part of the root;
4. dry the resulting pieces in the shade again.

Advice

To prevent infection from entering the tuber, treat the cut sites with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or sprinkle with charcoal or activated charcoal.

We plant the prepared raw material in a separate pot, water it moderately for 2-3 weeks until the first shoots appear, then increase the volume of water.

Seed propagation

Alpine violet can also be propagated by seeds. They are purchased from a flower shop or obtained at home by artificial pollination of a potted plant.You can prepare and plant seeds at any time of the year, but it is better if this happens in early autumn, at the end of the dormant period.

1. Soak the seed in water or 5% sugar syrup. In the future, you can only use those seeds that sink to the bottom.
2. We fill the container with a suitable soil, moisten it.
3. We lay the seeds on the surface, sprinkling on top with a centimeter layer of earth.
4. Cover with foil and send to a warm place (20⁰C) for a month.
5. Do not forget to regularly water and ventilate the soil.
6. After the sprouts appear, remove the film and take out the pot to a bright, cool place (15⁰C).

When 2-3 leaves appear on the sprouts, they can be planted in separate pots and looked after in the usual way. After 1.5–2 years, the matured plant will bloom for the first time.

Cyclamen transplant

The plant needs a transplant in three cases.

1. After purchasing a plant - to clear its roots from the transport peat substrate. To do this, they need to be washed and treated with "Kornevin" - a biostimulator designed to accelerate growth and strengthen the root system.
2. As the tubers and root system grow.
3. Every two years due to soil depletion.

Advice

If parasites start in the substrate or fungi and bacteria multiply, then the transplant must be carried out urgently, while changing the pot itself.

Before transplanting a cyclamen, you need to do a little preparatory work.

1. Choosing a pot - let it be a small container, no more than 14 centimeters in diameter, not too high, with drainage holes in the base.
2. Soil preparation - a good substrate for growing cyclamens is obtained from a mixture of turf, humus, peat and sand in a ratio of 3: 1: 1: 1. It should be loose and have a slightly acidic or neutral environment. You can also use ready-made soil purchased at a flower shop.
3. Disinfection and drying of expanded clay, which acts as a drainage.

It is best to replant the plant before the start of the growing season. For this you need:

1. remove it from the pot and together with the root ball;
2. when replacing the substrate, thoroughly clean and rinse the roots;
3. place in new soil;
4. gently tamp the ground with your hands;
5. water the plant.

Advice

When planting, make sure that 1/3 of the tuber, together with the growth point, must remain on the surface.

It is always painful to watch a plant weaken. Especially if this is your favorite bright and life-affirming cyclamen. The drooping flowers and yellowed leaves are very depressing for the owners. But don't panic - many problems are completely reversible. Perhaps these are the first signs of an approaching period of rest. In this situation, you are powerless - this is how nature has ordered, the plant needs rest in order to gain strength and delight you throughout the next season.

It is easy to remedy the situation if improper care is the cause of the wilting of the plant. Pay attention to the temperature, humidity and light levels in the room, and adjust the watering intensity.

A more serious situation arises when cyclamen suffers from the following diseases.

• Fusarium - a fungal disease that affects the tissues and blood vessels of the plant. The first sign is yellowing of the top of the leaves, followed by wilting. Often only one side of the flower suffers, while the other continues to grow. They fight the disease by irrigating with Fundazol solution and spraying with Topsin. Since the disease is considered contagious, the affected plant is isolated.
• Wet rot, the source of which is bacteria from soil, water or from an infected plant. The disease can be determined by wilted hanging flowers and leaves, as well as by a characteristic unpleasant odor. Unfortunately, it is useless to treat cyclamen - it will die when the rot descends to the root, so it is better to immediately destroy it in order to avoid the spread of pathogenic microflora.
• Gray rotbrought by the fungus in the damp cold air. At the same time, the leaves turn yellow and die off, and the flowers wither. Gray mold appears, which takes off from the movement of air. A diseased plant must be treated with a fungicide, after removing the affected areas.
• Anthracnose, which is accompanied by drying of the peduncles, yellowing and curling of the leaves. The substrate in a pot with an infected plant must be replaced with a new one, previously steamed.
• Sooty fungus, which is dangerous in that it forms an ugly black bloom that blocks the access of light to the leaves, because of which they fade and dry out. At the first sign, the affected areas should be washed with warm soapy water and the plant should be treated with a fungicide.

Advice

Signs of wilting can also appear from an excess of fertilizers, especially nitrogenous ones. When using them, observe the exact dosage, remember that everything is fine in moderation.

How to recognize pests?

Insects cause considerable harm to the home flower. Yellowed twisted leaves, a sticky secret on the plant speak of their presence and destructive activity. Armed with a magnifying glass, you can carefully examine them.

• Cyclamen mite in length reaches only 0.3 mm, but it is considered the most dangerous. Sucking the juices from the plant, it provokes leaf coagulation, wilting and death of buds and flowers. From a distance, the parasitic colony looks like a layer of dust. Mechanical removal of the affected area and treatment with an insecticide are the main measures to combat the pest.
• Thrips - winged parasites up to 1.5 mm in size. They feed on plant sap and lay larvae, which go deeper into the soil and damage the tuber. These pests can be recognized by the characteristic silvery sheen of the leaf blade, dried edge and whitish dots. Insecticides will help until the larvae get to the tuber.
• Shield - a small insect with a wax shell, which adheres tightly to the plant, feeding on its juices. In the process of life, it secretes a transparent secret, due to which the leaves of the cyclamen become sticky and shiny. In the fight against the scabbard, a warm soapy or alcohol solution helps.

Advice

Pests multiply very quickly, so control measures must be taken immediately after detection, without waiting for a critical situation.

So, cyclamen is a wonderful flower that needs care and attention, but never remains in debt, filling the house with wonderful colors, comfort and vitality.