With the onset of cold weather, when all the plants have already dried up, and the foliage has fallen, blooming cyclamen will surely raise your mood with its spectacular “butterfly” flowers, as if fluttering over silver-green, with unique stains, leaves. Its homeland is the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Two types of cyclamens became widespread as a pot culture: Persian and European. They bloom in winter, when no other plant pleases us. It is a perennial plant forming a corm. Characteristically, cyclamen is grown from seeds. Propagation by dividing the tuber is not recommended because the tuber can quickly rot and die.
Sowing seeds is allowed to be carried out at any time, just the time of the first flowering will directly depend on the period of the last transshipment, when the tuber will be buried at 2/3 of the height. But it is best to start growing cyclamen from seeds in February-March, then the plants can bloom in a year, in March. Seeds are soaked for 12 hours in a growth promoter or potassium permanganate and sown in a prepared, steamed earth mixture (soil mix + sand in a ratio of 4: 1). They are embedded to a depth of not more than 1 centimeter. In a pre-watered groove, seeds are placed at a distance of 3-4 centimeters and sprinkled with earth. Cyclamen seeds germinate in the dark at 18 - 20 degrees. To do this, the landing container is closed not only with glass or film, but also with dark paper until emergence. Shoots appear no earlier than a month later. Some varieties are characterized by long germination, so do not despair in advance, they can please you in a couple of months.
Emerging seedlings should be transferred to the light, but to where they are not threatened by the direct midday sun.
After the appearance of the first real ones, with the coloring of leaves characteristic of cyclamen, the plant must be dived. For the first dive, you can use the total capacity, but the distance between the shoots should be at least 5 centimeters. It is best to dive into individual containers filled with loose soil (you can recommend a soil mixture of the Tulip type), with sufficient drainage. At the first pick, the nodule that has already formed is sprinkled slightly with earth.
Growing cyclamen from seeds is characterized by the fact that in the first year, young plants do not rest. The second pick should be performed at the age of 7-8 months in pots, with a diameter of not more than 10-11 centimeters. The tubers should be buried in moist soil at 2/3 of their height. With the skillful use of agricultural techniques - shading, spraying, accurate dosage of mineral fertilizers, it is possible to achieve enhanced growth of young cyclamens and their flowering a year after planting the seeds. It is also necessary to produce the formation of bushes. Adult leaves are bred to the sides and lightly pinned with straightened paper clips or hairpins. This technique contributes to the formation of flower buds.
Growing cyclamen from seeds requires compliance with some basic rules:
• when transplanting plants into a new container, you cannot use soil mixtures in which fresh or poorly rotted manure is added. Tubers can rot and die;
• during transshipment, it should be remembered that large pots are contraindicated for cyclamen, in them the soil quickly soups, and the roots rot. Between the edge of the pot and corm should be no more than 3 centimeters;
• during planting, cyclamen should not be deepened more than 2/3 of the tuber height, because this protects the growth point and stimulates the laying of flower buds;
• an excess of mineral fertilizers is not recommended for young plants, therefore they should be applied in a minimum amount (1/2 tsp of complex flower fertilizer per liter of water). In the period before flowering, plants should be fed two to three times;
• watering should be carried out only in a pan, since if water gets on the tuber of the plant, the flower buds can rot;
• when flower buds appear, provide an ambient temperature of about 18 degrees and reduce watering.
Propagation of cyclamen by seeds is one of the opportunities to enjoy magnificent plants that bloom spectacularly in the winter, causing us delight and a sense of unreality against the background of patterned frosty window glass.