The genus Cyclamen has up to fifty species of plants that belong to the family of primrose. The territory where they were first discovered is Central Europe, and also Asia Minor. Cyclamen is a herbaceous plant, perennial, having a tuberous root, which is slightly thickened. Leaves in it are radical, with long cuttings, round-lobed, green. Flowers are located on long peduncles, and have a slightly drooping appearance.
There is an opinion that a house plant cyclamen is difficult to grow indoors, but it is far from the truth. If it is grown according to all the rules, it will please the growers for a very long time. Problems can arise with colors that have been bought in the store.
Care of the plant.
Lighting. For all the love of this plant for light, they do not transfer the sun's rays directed at them. If we talk about the side of the world, then they are best in the west and east.
Temperature regime. If we talk about optimal conditions for normal growth and flowering, then they can be divided into summer and winter conditions. In summer, it is desirable to place in a room with a temperature of + 18-25C, and in winter it should be a bright and cool room with a temperature of + 10C, but not higher than + 12-14C.
Watering. When this houseplant blooms, it should be watered either abundantly or moderately. Do not allow waterlogging or drying the land. Suitable water for irrigation is well-kept and soft. As for the watering, it should be done carefully, with the edge of the pot; Do not allow water to enter buds and tubers of the plant. Therefore, you can water and through a pallet. Also, the plant can not survive if water enters the core of the plant, since the tuber can rot. If we talk about the water temperature, then it should be a couple of degrees less than the temperature in the room. After watering, after an hour or two, the water from the pan, if it is there, must be drained, otherwise the roots may begin to rot. After the plant fades, the frequency of watering can begin to be reduced, and by the summer period, it is completely not watered when the leaves turn yellow and dry up.
When the time of appearance of buds is coming, the cyclamen plant needs to be sprayed. And after their appearance, spraying is stopped to prevent their rotting. If you need to increase the humidity, then in the pallet you can put wet moss or expanded clay (pebbles also fit). But remember that the bottom should not touch the water. Rain water will be more desirable, but you can also use filtered, stagnant water.
Top dressing. When foliage begins to appear on the plant, but there is still no flowering, the plant should be fed with mineral fertilizer; frequency of fertilizing - every 2 weeks. Cyclamens love organic fertilizers. And with nitrogen fertilizers, you should be careful, you can not add them in large quantities, because they can rotate root tubers.
Bloom. Cyclamen is a plant that grows about 10-15 years and every year up to 70 flowers can appear on it. Those flowers that have faded and faded, cleaned with a pedicel. When a plant already begins to wither, i.e. it fades and leaves turn yellow, it is necessary to pinch them off at the root (but not cut off). After this place rupture sprinkle abundant powder from charcoal.
Reproduction. Reproduction of cyclamen is quite difficult at home. Usually propagate by dividing the tuber. There is a variant of reproduction and seeds, but this is a very long process.
To get full seeds at home, then artificial pollination (better cross) is necessary. You should take a soft brush, using it to take the pollen from one plant and place it on the pestle of another plant. It will be good to feed the cyclamen at this time with phosphorus-potassium fertilizer.
The best period for sowing is August, because in summer this plant has a rest period.
Before sowing, the seeds are sometimes poured with a solution of sugar (5%) and take the seeds that have fallen to the bottom; seeds that have surfaced do not fit. Sometimes the seeds are soaked in a solution of zircon.
For the substrate, light ingredients are taken. A mixture of leaf land and peat, in a ratio of one to one, or peat and vermiculite, will be suitable in the same ratio.
The substrate is moistened, then the seeds are laid out on its surface and sprinkled with a layer of earth 0.5-1 cm thick. To germinate, the seeds do not need light, because they can be covered with a film that does not emit light. The best temperature for them is about + 20C, at a temperature above the seeds can "fall asleep" and germination will stop. The temperature does not approach and below + 18С, as seeds will rot. Do not forget to monitor the moisture content of the soil, and periodically it is necessary to ventilate the container with seeds.
The standard germination time at the optimal temperature is just over a month. After germination, the film is removed from the surface, and the container is placed in a place that is well-lit, but without direct sun. The temperature should be lower, about + 15-17С.
After the appearance of nodules with 2-3 leaves in the seedlings, and it usually happens in December, they are placed in a pot, where there is sheet earth (2 parts), peat (1 part) and sand (0.5 part). Nodules should be covered with earth (adults do not need to do this). After transplanting in a new mixture, after about a week, it is necessary to add a fertilizer, which should be diluted by half. A 0.2% solution of ammonium sulphite (2 grams per liter) will be suitable, and after 0.1 days add 0.1% potassium nitrate.
In the spring the seedlings are already transplanted into separate pots.
The grown cyclamens from the seeds will bloom after sowing in about 14 months.
Precautionary measures.
Cyclamen, and especially its species - cyclamen Persian, contain poisonous substances. The greatest content of it in tubers. This poison can cause vomiting, diarrhea, or cramps.
Difficulties of care.
The plant can be attacked by a grape weevil. In this case, its stems will break and die. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly check the ground for the presence of cream-colored larvae, with brown heads.
If the room is too high humidity, and the temperature is not very high, then on the flowers and buds often appears gray furry rot in the form of sprouting.
In addition to the weevil, the plant is subject to damage by a cyclamen mite. Leaves in this change shape - deform, or do not grow; flowers start to fade, buds and peduncles crinkle. If the plant is infected with a tick, then it must be discarded, since it is impossible to get rid of the tick.
Cyclamen poorly tolerates heat, so at temperatures above + 17C, when the air is warm and dry, the leaves turn yellow and fall and the plant will fade. The same will happen if it is not enough to water the plant and it will stand in direct sunlight.