Cyclamen

lynseydee

I have posted before about my cyclamen and am pleased to say that I have managed to revive it by giving it some liquid feed. The trouble I have now is that it seems to have liked the liquid feed so much that the stalks the leaves are growing on have gone mad and are longer than I think they should be. Should I put it in a bigger pot as at the moment it is in the pot it came in which is probably only about 3 or so inches wide? Does anyone have any ideas as to how I can stop it growing so madly?

Jnelhams

Cyclamen should be in good light, but not strong sun light. Yours sounds like it is in a little too much shade. The leaves should be self supporting and not flopping over the pot. Remember not to over water, or keep it above 18c otherwise it will suffer. Always pull off dead flowes and leaves, never cut them off. If you want to grow some seed leave a few flower heads on and watch for a large round pea shaped seed head to form, when it curls up and splits open carefully plant the seeds in a little compost and water, leave a few weeks and watch the tiny plants grow, do not disturb for 2 years.

They do not have very deep root systems, so it is unlikely to need repotting, but you can do this when it is dormant (normally mid summer) depending on the Species. I presume this is a House plant Cyclamen Persicum (tuber is posionous) they can live for a hundred years.

Jnelhams

If you want to know more about growing Cyclamen especially the beautiful hardy wild varities then the Cyclamen Society is the best one to join.

http://www.cyclamen.org/indexCS.html

Cyclamen is from the Greek 'Cyclos' and means circle as the seed heads curl up into circular bundles, and Ants carry off the seeds, which means I have lots of Ants and lots of Cyclamens in my front Garden. :rotfl:

lynseydee

Thanks for the info Jnelhams. Maybe I over watered/fed it then. It has stopped flowering for the tiime being and the leaves have just gone mad. Not sure if it is an inside or outside clyclamen as it was a skip rescue from a friend.

Jnelhams

If the flowers were on long stalks (more than an inch) and were anything other than pale pink or white then it is almost certainly a hybrid of Cyclamen Persicum. It will do pretty much what you have described and later on the leaves will start to turn yellow and die off, the corm should not be left to dry out completely but should be given a little water every week or two and kept in the coolest place in the house. Later on around mid August/September you will start to see new shoots, bring it to somewhere brighter but cool and keep moist, it will reward you every year with out fail with flowers.

Cyclamen have few pests, except for Red Spider mite (spray occassional with rain water to keep at bay) and are reliable plants for a cool bright room such as the loo or kitchen window.

You often see Cyclamen now sold has 'Hardy' on markets, but these are rarely the true outdoor type and will die in a hard frost.

lynseydee

Hi Jnelhams

The flowers were on stalks more than one inch but are white with a red/deep pink colour around the base (does that make sense?). All of the flowers have died off at the moment but I think I have some more growing as I have noticed some shoots coming up but they don't look like the leaves do when they are sprouting.

Haven't suffered with red spider mite yet so will keep my eye out just in case. I would consider where it is kept at the moment (living room) is a reasonably cool bright room as it is at the back of the house so doesn't get direct sunlight but gets enough sunlight as we have patio doors.

Was going to keep it as an indoor plant as I don't want to loose this plant as I quite like it and it does go with the decor in my living room hence why that is its home.

Jnelhams

Yes it sounds almost certainly a Cyclamen Persicum. If you do not overwater it, keep cool and bright it, never get water on the Corm and if you repot every 2 or 3 years when dormant, make sure that you only ever half bury the corm, the top half must stay above the compost or it will rot.
Get these bits right, and it will grow long enough to pass on to your grand children!

You might want to hunt out an Easter Cactus or two at the shops/friends these like similar conditions to the Cyclamen, and are relatively easy to look after as are Christmas Cactus (both have gorgeous flowers every year) neither have any prickles and are reliable and easy to propargate. You take a pad ( section of stem) leave to dry off for a day, and then insert to half it's depth in sandy compost water a little and wait!

lynseydee

Funnily enough Jnelhams I inherited Cristmas/Easter (not sure which) cactuses from my nan when she died. Unfortunately whilst I had them they stopped flowering and then died. Just goes to show how good I am usually with plants although hubby is impressed that my kill rate is going down :rotfl:

I have now moved my cyclamen to the kitchen as my friend came round the other night and told me that the reason it had gone leggy was because it wasn't getting enough light (our living room obviously doesn't get as much light as I thought then). It has been there for the last couple of days but it doesn't look like it's doing any better. Maybe I should just give up

Jnelhams

Yes as I said in my original reply the need cool bright conditions so the kitchen windowsill should be the perfect spot. Not too much water, mind, no plant should sit in a saucer of water. If you give it a go with the cacti in the same spot and dont move them while in flower you should do well.

if you lightly press your finger on to the surface of the soil, and it comes away wet or with soil stuck to it, then you do not need to water.