Cyclamen is a perennial plant that blooms in late autumn or early winter. It throws out buds of various colors - from snow-white to dark purple. In nature, there are many cyclamens, but Persian and European, as well as hybrids, are grown at home. These plants can be propagated by tubers, as well as seeds. The latter method is preferable, but how to grow cyclamen from seeds? It is troublesome, but not difficult.
Seed
There are several ways to get plant seeds. You can buy them in the store, collect the seeds yourself, or you can contact collectors who are engaged in obtaining seed.
Having decided to grow cyclamen from seeds at home from store material, you should be extremely attentive to quality. In cyclamens, fresh seeds germinate best: the older the material, the harder it is to germinate. Year-old seeds most often sprout, and then die.
Seed preparation
Before growing cyclamen from seeds, they are processed. This will help preserve most of the sprouts.
Seeds are treated with a pink solution of potassium permanganate or soaked in special preparations stimulating growth. Then the seeds are soaked for several hours in water so that they swell. They are not dried, but immediately planted in a box filled with soil. After about a month, the first sprouts will appear.
Soil preparation
You can plant cyclamen seeds in almost any substrate, since these plants are not very picky. The main thing, when choosing soil, rely on the following criteria:
- When drying, it should not turn into a tight lump.
- The soil should be loose, give the root system to breathe freely.
- Earth should not accumulate excess moisture. After irrigation, water should freely pass through the soil, not lingering inside the tank.
Some gardeners advise using peat seeds for planting cyclamens. However, this type of substrate is able to absorb too much water and you will have to make sure that the middle and lower part have time to dry out, otherwise the seeds and sprouts will rot.
Many nutrients are found in leafy soil, as well as in turfy soil. The land brought from the forest or from the garden, even store soil, must be decontaminated. High temperatures destroy spores and weeds, disinfect fungi, and kill diseases.
When growing cyclamen from seeds at home, it is recommended to mix the soil with coarse sand or fine perlite. This will help impart friability to the substrate.
Those who often flood flowers are not recommended to sow cyclamens in peat. It is better to make a mixture of earth, sand and perlite. Do not add compost and humus to the soil, as this can lead to infection with fungal diseases or parasites.
Sowing
According to reviews, cyclamen seeds germinate best in boxes made of wood or opaque plastic. You can not plant them immediately in separate pots, since the sprouts in the first weeks have a weak root system, not able to occupy the entire space, because of which the soil begins to sour, mold appears. As a result, young shoots die.
And how to grow cyclamens from seeds in a box? First you need to prepare the soil. Then a container is taken, disinfected. Holes are made in the bottom through which excess water will escape.
At the bottom of the box laid out drainage. It can be expanded clay, polystyrene, pebbles. Then the box is half filled with soil, which is densely compacted. Wells are made in it to a depth of not more than 0.5 cm. Seeds are laid out in these recesses and sprinkled on top with a substrate. From above, crops are moistened from a spray bottle.
The box is covered with glass or placed in a plastic bag. For germination, cyclamen seeds need cold and darkness. Many flower growers germinate them by placing boxes with crops under the bath. The glass is covered with a dark bag or cloth.
Knowing how to grow cyclamen from seeds, you can experiment and find the most optimal method of germination, suitable for you.
After germination
As soon as the sprouts hatch, it is necessary to transfer the greenhouse to the light and ventilate it. Do not place the box near the drafts, as it can cause cyclamen death. The cover is completely removed only after the formation of the complete first leaf. Seedlings are given several days to adapt without a greenhouse, and then planted in separate containers.
Pick
For a pick, pots of small diameter are chosen. The seedling will live in them for about a year, and after that a second transplant will be in a more spacious container. A large hole is made in the bottom through which the wick is passed. This is necessary so as not to ruin the plant during irrigation: water adversely affects the root neck and leaf rosette, so it must come from below, not from above. Using a wick will help the plant get as much water as it needs.
Many flower growers have a question, after the seeds of cyclamen have sprouted, how to plant the received seedlings in pots? This is done in several stages:
- The pot is filled with any drainage. It can be pebbles, polystyrene, expanded clay. Then the tank is half filled with a mixture of soil, sand and perlite.
- In a box where cyclamens grow, soil is abundantly watered. This is necessary to facilitate the extension of the sprouts.
- Seedlings are transferred to separate pots. During planting, it must be ensured that the root neck remains on the surface of the soil.
- It’s not worth watering the plants for several days, the water should absorb liquid from a lump of soil with which the plant was transferred to a new pot.
- A week later, the first fertilizer is carried out. To do this, use ammonium sulfate. Such top dressing will accelerate the adaptation of cyclamen to new conditions. The second top dressing is carried out a week after the first, with a solution of potassium nitrate.
For cyclamen from seeds, care involves the first pick not earlier than three months after the emergence of seedlings.
Features of growing flowers from seeds
When growing cyclamen from seeds, each grower is faced with some features that are mistaken for problems.
- In the first minimum three months, the plants do not grow. The same thing happens in the first months after a dive. This is due to the fact that cyclamens actively build up the tuber and root system. As soon as the lower part of the plant fills the entire substrate, buds will begin to appear on the upper part. This usually happens closer to six months.
- It is best to plant plants in March or April, when it is cool, but not too sunny.
- 1-2 times a month it is recommended to make fertilizers.
Own seeds
Cyclamens blooming at home are able to produce high quality seeds. They can be tied with self-pollination, as well as with cross-pollination by gardeners. It is carried out as follows: pollen from one plant is transferred to another very carefully, using a small brush. After the seed box ripens, all seeds are extracted from it. They are dried for several days, and then sown. And how to collect cyclamen seeds yourself? To do this, you just need to wait for the seed box to ripen: usually it takes about three months.
After all the seeds have been removed and dried, they are sown in a container according to the above method. Pre-processed seeds. This is necessary in order for the new sprouts to be healthy, without any diseases that adult specimens of cyclamen can suffer from.
Homemade seeds almost always produce 100% sprouts. Shoots develop amicably and quickly. And after six months, plants can please their first flowering. It is difficult to achieve such results when growing store seeds: they develop longer, grow worse and bloom later. The main thing, during the cultivation of cyclamens, you should monitor the quality and quantity of irrigation: water should not stagnate and waterlogging of the soil should not be allowed, as this can lead to decay of the sprouts.