It is not difficult to grow a cyclamen, or dryad, from seeds at home, but even with the most careful care with its magnificent flowering, it will not soon please the grower. It will take a year, or even more, before the cyclamen releases its luxurious flowers. In any case, when growing it, you must follow the rules.
Sowing seeds
Prepare a seed box. To do this, equip it with good drainage from expanded clay, crushed stone or pebbles and fill in soil. You might be wise to buy a specialty cyclamen primer at a flower shop. But if you do not have such an opportunity, prepare the nutrient soil yourself: mix leafy soil, humus, coarse river sand and peat in a ratio of 3: 1: 1: 1.
Sow cyclamen seeds between early October and late January - this is the most favorable time for germination and development of the seed. Water the soil with warm filtered water and sow the seeds. Sprinkle them on top with a thin layer of dry earth. And then remove the box for 30 days in a dark place where the air temperature is 18-20 ° C. Keep the topsoil moist throughout the germination phase.
Planting cyclamen sprouts
The cyclamen root system will take about 3 months to form. With the appearance of 4-5 full-fledged leaves, transplant the sprouts into small pots with a diameter of 10-13 cm, in which good drainage is equipped and a special nutrient soil for cyclamens with a pH 5-6 reaction is filled in (or prepare the composition yourself - the same as for germination seeds, but with the addition of mineral fertilizer). Plant the sprouts shallow, keeping the top of the tuber above the ground.
Top dressing
At the initial stage of growing cyclamens, feed them once every 2 weeks with the liquid fertilizer Agricola-Fantasy in combination with Agricola for flowering plants. Dissolve 1 tbsp in 3 liters of water. first and 1 tsp. second and water the plants. Due to the large amount of nitrogen in these fertilizers, cyclamens can develop green mass and slow down the formation of buds, so you should not increase the proportions of top dressing for a certain volume of water (in this case, 3 liters).
Temperature control and lighting
During the growth phase of cyclamens, maintain a temperature of 17-19 ° C in the room where they are located. When the roots grow, and the tubers noticeably increase, it is necessary to lower the temperature to 15-16 ° C during the day and to 12-14 ° C at night. In high light conditions, cyclamen growth and flowering will accelerate, so choose a well-lit place for them, but protect from direct sunlight. Shade the flowers with blinds or plain newspaper if necessary. Do not allow leaf burns, cyclamen takes a long time to recover, and in the worst-case scenario, it dies.
Watering
Cyclamens do not like frequent and abundant watering. Water them as the earthy coma dries up (make sure that the tuber is always 1/3 above the ground). The ideal watering of cyclamen looks like this: fill a deep tray with expanded clay or pebbles, fill it with water and place a pot with cyclamen on top. The roots will absorb the required amount of moisture, and you just have to add water to the pan in time. It is not necessary to spray cyclamen from a spray bottle.
Bloom
Cyclamens reach their maximum flowering in the winter-spring period at home and in winter gardens, and in April-May - on balconies and loggias. After flowering profusely, remove the tubers in a dark, cool place. No watering required. The dormant period for these flowers lasts up to 9 months. At the first sprouts that have hatched, take the pots out into the light.
