Careful Attention Keeps Potted Cyclamen Healthy

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30093, 29 March 1963, Page 7

Careful Attention Keeps Potted Cyclamen Healthy

Cyclamen are probably the most popular of all pot plants for growing in the house. In spite of their popularity their care seems to cause many people headaches, so that a good healthy plant loses its vigour, turns yellow and seems to pine away. Already plants are appearing in the shops and their numbers will increase until they reach a peak at Mother’s Day. This article is intended to help maintain your cyclamen in good health and to obtain the best results from it.

When buying a plant, choose one that is strong and healthy with plenty of dark green leaves. Don’t be tempted to buy the plant with the most flowers. Part the leaves and look for a good crop of buds which will develop when the present flowers have faded so as to prolong the length of time of flowering.

Cyclamen are being grown in different types of containers today, the two most common are the traditional clay pots and the newer plastics which are available in a number of colours and shapes. The plants do just as well in either kind of pot providing it is remembered that plastic pots dry out more slowly than do the clays, so watering will not need to be as frequent Positioning Plants

Low light causes the flower stems to become thin and drawn and as a result they will topple over and hangdown. Give them plenty of light but keep them ouit of direct sun.

It is common practice to stand the pot in a saucer so that this can take up the surplus water after watering. Standing the plant in a saucer always filled with water is detrimental to the health of the plant as it causes waterlogging in the bottom of the pot. Cyclamen are intolerant of such conditions and this fault causes trouble with many cyclamen. After watering pour the excess of water away or fill the saucer with sand or fine gravel and stand your plant on this. Cyclamen do not require high temperatures and in fact thrive best in a cool atmosphere. As long as they are not subject to frost, lower temperatures will not harm them. A night temperature of 40 to 45 degrees and a day temperature of around 60 degrees probably suits them best. Watering Insufficient attention to watering is probably the most common cause of failure with cyclamen. Pots should never be allowed to dry out. If they become dry only for a short while, the leaves may turn yellow and die off, even though the flowers appear to be quite healthy. On the other hand, too much water is detrimental as the leaves taken , on a leaden and unhealthy appearance and attack by botrytis is encouraged. Water the plant when it requires it. The frequency of watering will depend on the size of plant and pot, and the temperature of the room.

If the temperature is low and continues for some time, keep the plant rather more dry as this will enable it to withstand lower temperatures better. Disease There is only one disease likely to be troublesome and that is Botrytis. Symptoms Of this disease is a greyish mould which usually begins on dead or damaged material from where it will spread to living tissue; spotting of the flowers is another symptom of this disease. This disease occurs in cold damp conditions where the air may be stagnant; it is aggravated by careless watering. It is commonly found on the developing flowerbuds below the leaves, and if left unchecked will seriously reduce the number of flowers produced. It usually begins on dead leaves or flower .stems so these should be picked off as soon as they are noticed. Give the stems a sharp pull so that they part cleanly from the corm and pieces are not left still attached. If, however, this should occur, remove the offending pieces of stem with a pointed stick. Water carefully, keeping the leaves dry and avoid wetting the centre of the corm. Care of eld plants Those cyclamen which have been saved from last year or which have been kept for a number of years should now be given attention. After they had finished flowering they were allowed to dry off and are probably still in their pots. See that the drainage in the pots is adequate and that the hole in the bottom of the pot is not blocked. Remove any weeds and pick off dead leaves. If the soil is very dry stand the pot in water for an hour or two until it is thoroughly soaked. Scrape away the top inch of soil and replace with fresh material. Bring it into the house and water sparingly until active growth begins if this is not already evident.