One of the most attractive indoor plants for amateur gardeners of our country is cyclamen. The original plant with beautiful flowers has long and firmly taken its place on the windowsills of many apartments and has become the pride of their owners. However, this plant needs special attention, and responds to improper care by the appearance of various diseases that can nullify all efforts to grow them. The only way to avoid cyclamen disease is to surround them with attention and ensure proper care.
Plant description
Cyclamen is a herbaceous perennial with a tuber-like thickened root. Perhaps due to the shape of the roots, he got his name. In nature, grows in areas of the Mediterranean, but is better known as a houseplant.
This small elegant flower with an interesting pattern on the leaves is appreciated for its high decorative properties. Its single flowers on long high peduncles are distinguished by a variety of colors. If at first there were only species with red and white flowers, then at present varieties with different shades of pink, lilac and pale violet were bred during the selection. The most common indoor flower is Persian cyclamen.
A distinctive feature of cyclamens is the fact that their flowering occurs in the winter - from October to March.
The main causes of cyclamen diseases
All cyclamen diseases occur, as a rule, due to non-compliance with the conditions of their detention. The main causes of the disease are:
- low humidity;
- excess watering;
- violation of the temperature regime;
- wrong soil composition;
- improper care during the dormant period;
- lack of lighting during the period of active growth and flowering.
Preventing cyclamen diseases is much easier than treating them. Therefore, the plant should be regularly inspected and, when the slightest signs of the disease appear, respond promptly to them, adjusting the living conditions.
Rest during rest
In nature, the active growth and flowering of cyclamen occurs in the winter, which is characterized by cool weather and heavy rainfall. The plant perceives an increase in temperature as a signal of the onset of hot, dry summers and begins to prepare for it. This feature is one of the reasons why problems arise with the content of cyclamens. In an excessively warm room, they stop blooming and try to drop the leaves, preparing for the rest period. This fact must be taken into account when caring for a flower. The correct alternation of periods of growth with periods of rest and the creation of appropriate conditions of detention during these periods will avoid many problems associated with cyclamen diseases and their treatment.
Care Rules
Cyclamen diseases will bypass you if the flower is provided with the following conditions:
- The right lighting. In the active period, it should be bright, but excluding direct sunlight from the plant. Therefore, it is better to keep the flower in partial shade on the windowsills facing east and west. On the southern windows the plant will have to shade, and on the northern windows there will be too little light.
- Temperature. In winter, during the period of active growth and flowering, the optimum temperature for cyclamens is +10 ° , the maximum limit is +14 ° . In summer, the ambient temperature should not exceed 25 ° C. If possible, it is recommended to dig the pot with the plant in the garden, in a shaded place.
- Watering. For it, you need soft, settled water, the temperature of which should be a couple of degrees below room temperature. During flowering, the plant is watered so as to prevent either drying out or overmoistening of the earthen coma. Top watering is possible if it is done carefully so as not to soak the buds and tuber. It is better to water cyclamen from the pan. After holding the pot in the pan for one or two hours, the water is drained from it to prevent root decay. When flowering ends, watering is gradually reduced, and with the onset of the summer dormant period, watering is extremely rare. From the beginning of autumn, watering is gradually increasing.
- Air humidity. To increase it, the plant is periodically sprayed until the buds appear, after which the spraying is stopped so that the buds do not rot. To moisten the air, the pots can be placed on a pallet with wet moss, expanded clay or pebbles so that their bottom does not touch the water.
- Top dressing. When the plant is actively increasing leaf mass and until the beginning of flowering, it is fed every two weeks with full mineral fertilizer. It must be remembered that an excess of nitrogen fertilizers can lead to decay of the roots.
- The soil. Cyclamen should be transplanted into the soil, consisting of sheet soil, humus, peat and sand. The acidity of the soil should not be higher than six, otherwise the likelihood of developing various fungal diseases increases.
Failure to comply with these basic rules leads to various problems. Consider the main diseases of cyclamen with a photo.
Rot
The most common diseases of cyclamen are various types of rot.
- Wet rot. Flowers and leaves sag, an unpleasant putrefactive odor appears. The roots also gradually rot. The cause of the disease is infection in cracks or wounds on the plant. The source of infection is a diseased plant or contaminated water. Unfortunately, in this case, it will not be possible to save the flower. It must be destroyed to prevent infection of other plants. Prevention measures - compliance with the irrigation regime, prevention of soil waterlogging.
- Gray rot. The plant becomes soft and watery, it forms a gray mold coating. High humidity and too low temperature provoke the disease. To combat the disease, remove all diseased leaves and flowers and treat the plant with fungicide. Make sure that the air is dry, for this purpose ventilate the room, avoiding drafts. To avoid the appearance of gray rot, it is necessary to prevent excess moisture and water from entering the tuber and leaves during watering.
- Non-infectious tuber rot causes yellowing and wilting of leaves. The tubers become brown and soft. The diseased plant is destroyed. As a prophylaxis, you need to use the correct soil mixture, follow the rules of fertilizing, less often moisten the tubers, especially in the heat, and do not plant them to great depths.
Consider other fungal diseases of cyclamen and their treatment with a photo.
Anthracnose
It provokes the occurrence of this fungal disease due to elevated temperature and humidity. Outwardly, it appears only with the beginning of flowering. If the peduncles are affected by a fungus, they develop poorly, look curved and turn yellow from the top. The buds do not appear, and the existing ones do not bloom. Then the disease captures the leaves. They turn yellow and dry.
To save the plant, it is isolated, dried tissue is removed and treated with fungicides. Bring air humidity and room temperature in accordance with the requirements of care.
Late blight and other fungal diseases
One of the most common diseases and pests of cyclamen is Phytophthora fungus. Favorable conditions for its development include too high a temperature and humidity, as well as overly active fertilizing.
Externally, the disease manifests itself as a loss of elasticity and strength of the leaf plates, which later begin to dry. The tuber is covered with rot.
To combat late blight, you need to temporarily stop watering, completely replace the soil in the pot, treat the plant with fungicides and maintain the required temperature and humidity in the room.
Dangerous fungal ailments of cyclamen also include rhizoctoniosis and fusarium. The methods of treatment and prevention of the former are similar to the treatment of late blight. Fusarium is very difficult to treat even with fungicides. It is easier to prevent by adjusting the conditions of the flower.
Viral diseases
Among the diseases and pests of cyclamen, the photos of which are presented below, it should be specifically said about viral infections:
- The leaf bronze virus is manifested by deformation of leaf plates, a brown pattern on them and necrosis of the veins and tissues. Sick plants destroy.
- The virus is a circular mosaic. Ring-shaped patterns resembling fingerprints form on the leaves. Veins harden, leaves crack. Sick plants should be destroyed.
The peddler of this virus is thrips. To prevent infection, special sticky traps for these pests are hung in the places where the plants are kept. Besides thrips, there are other pests. Cyclamen diseases and the treatment of the ailments caused by them also require special attention.
Pests and the fight against them
The most common pests of cyclamen are:
- Aphid. These insects are able to literally suck all the juices out of the plant in a matter of days. In large quantities, aphids cover the flower like plaque. As a result, it deforms and can die. The plant should be washed under a strong stream of water and treated with an insecticide.
- Cyclamen tick. Due to its microscopic size, it is possible to notice its appearance only when a lot of individuals accumulate in one place. On the inner surface of the sheet as if an accumulation of yellow dust is formed. As a result, the leaves begin to change along the edges, the stems twist, and the buds fall. To save the plant, you must immediately remove all its affected parts and spray with an insecticide.
- Root gall nematodes. Signs of their appearance are growth retardation and the formation of nodular swellings at the root, resembling beads. Unfortunately, such a plant is subject to destruction.
Prevention of cyclamen diseases consists in proper care and compliance with all necessary maintenance requirements.