Cyklamen - Cyclamen persicum
Cyclamens, although they are commonly grown as houseplants, but they also supply cut flowers for interior decoration and for wreaths and various types of bouquets.
Rigid leaves, heart-shaped, finely serrated, colored dark green with irregular, silvery pattern, about the fleshy ones, red colored petioles emerge from the brown tuber. Big flowers, do 7 cm in length, composed of 5 petals characteristically folded back, mounted on rigid ones, fleshy peduncles, they sprout from the top of the tuber. The form and color of flowers - very diverse. Crown petals can be elliptical, almost circular or lanceolate, with smooth or notched edges, White, pink, salmon and red in different shades. The so-called. varieties with a "eye" characterized by a darker colored ring at the base of the petals.
One of the determining factors for successful cyclamen cultivation is soil. It should be prepared at least for 6 weeks before use, preferably in the fall, so that she can "lay down", i.e.. get the right structure.
Replacing complex soil mixtures with peat will significantly reduce the number of working hours in the production of cyclamen.
Siew. Cultivation of cyclamen takes over a year. They are propagated from seeds, which are sold by the pieces. The seeds are big, about 2-3 mm of irregular shape; fresh, they have a dark cherry color and a sheen, which they lose with storage. They can be sown from August to the end of September. Before sowing, it is recommended to soak them through 12, 24 or 48 hours in water at 22 °. Boxes intended for sowing are filled with mixture A consisting of 2 parts of the leaf ground, 1 parts of sand and 1 parts of peat. The seeds are placed individually with a 2X3 cm spacing and covered with the sifted soil, a layer of thickness 0,5 cm. To prevent algae from growing, the surface is covered with moss or peat. The boxes are placed in a greenhouse at 18-22 ° C and sprinkled daily. Soaked seeds sprout after 1.5-2 weeks, not soaked seeds after 4-6 weeks. As the sprouts begin to show, the cover layer is removed, and places the boxes as close to the light as possible, at 15 °, so that the seedlings do not "stretch out". During the period of plant growth, the temperature should be above 14 °, because at lower temperatures, cyclamens develop large tubers with few leaves.
The first quilting. After 6 weeks after the germination of plants, the first quilting begins. The seedlings are prized with a pin and, me shaking the ground from its roots, puts in boxes filled with fresh soil, at a distance of 4X4 cm; the box contains 84-96 seedlings. We plant the seedlings lightly, without pinching them, in this way, so that the cotyledons face one way, and young tubers completely covered with earth. If the young tubers stick out of the ground, their surface becomes corky, as a result, as the tubers continue to grow, the peel breaks and fissures form, in which microbes that cause rotting develop.
The boxes with quilted seedlings are kept at a temperature of about 20 ° and lightly sprinkled several times in the morning until they are established. After this time, the temperature is lowered to 18-16 °, and the plants, apart from sprinkling, water as needed. Please pay attention, make the earth, in which cyclamens grow, it was moderately moist throughout the cultivation period, for dried cyclamens, even in the initial period of cultivation, the flowers do not grow above the leaves.
Second quilting. When the seedlings produce 3-4 leaves, which usually occurs after the next 5-7 weeks, the cyclamens are picked back into mixture B., spaced 6X6 cm (then it fits in the box 45 pieces). This activity, as well as further treatments, is performed similarly to the first quilting.
Starting from the second quilting, cyclamen can be grown in peat, the pH of which was adjusted to 5.6-6.0 and to which the clay and the following fertilizer mixture were added: 0,78 kg of ammonium nitrate, 0,57 kg superphosphate, 0,40 kg of potassium sulfate i 0,25 kg of magnesium sulfate per 1 m3.
Potting. In mid-April, cyclamens are planted in pots using C mix. The pots should be 8-9 cm in diameter. There is drainage at their bottom, and the tuber is lightly covered with earth, so that it forms a small mound. Even after watering the plants, the tubers must still be below the surface of the earth.
The pots are placed in a greenhouse with a temperature of 16-18 ° C, po 40 pieces on 1 m;2 or, if spring is warm, immediately in the inspection on the warm bottom, po 60 pieces in the window.
The cyclamen is kept warm for the first week after planting, humid atmosphere, slightly shaded. After this period, they are only shaded during strong sunlight, usually in the hours from 11 do 14, airing gradually resumes, and the plants are sprayed 2 times in the morning and once in the afternoon.
The first transplant. When the roots wrap around the lump of earth, it is a sign, that the cyclamens must be replanted again; this operation usually takes place at the end of May, beginning of June. Plants are planted in pots 10-11 cm in diameter, for mixture D., proceeding as for the first pot planting. In our conditions, transplanted plants are usually placed in frame boxes on a warm bottom, po 40 pieces in the window, pitting pots in peat mulch, which helps to maintain proper humidity.
Second transplant. The last time cyclamens are transplanted at the end of June, at the beginning of July, by 10 July, for pots with a diameter of 13-14 cm. As usual, the plants are planted lightly, this time, however, paying attention, to 1/3 tuber protruded above the ground. At the same time, the emerging flower buds are removed with the help of a pointed stick. Every morning the cyclamens are checked and watered, and in addition, during the day, two, and even three times if it's hot. In the case of constant solar operation, it shades for an hour 10 do 15. In the third decade of August, shading ceases, and only sprinkles the plants 2 times a day.
From mid-August, we feed plants growing in peat three times, at two-week intervals, with a solution of the mixture added to the peat, counting 1 g na 1 the plant.
So that the cyclamens grow evenly in all directions, must have sufficient space. For this purpose, they are set apart when they begin to touch the leaves, i.e.. 2—3 times a summer, As a result, there are 16-20 pots in one window. W 3 weeks after the last replanting of co 10 days are fed with slurry diluted in the ratio 1 :30 plus 2 g superfosfatu i 1 g 40% potassium salt.
Nursing after transfer to the greenhouse. In the last days of September, and in the first days of October at the latest (if the autumn is warm), the cyclamens are transferred to the greenhouse and placed 9-12 per 1 mb window sill. These plants bloom most evenly and profusely at a temperature of 12-16 °.
The attempt is widely known, which gardeners use to find out, whether cyclamens are well produced. It consists in turning the pot with the plant upside down and placing it on the leaves; in a properly developed plant, not only the petioles should not bend, but it should keep the second copy set on top of it.