Jdnd 9, 1921 



The Florists' Rcviev^ 



19 



GROWING CYCLAMEN 



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WING to careful selection 

 of the finest plants and 

 flowers for seed, cyc- 

 himens have become tlie 

 ^ W f^ most popular floweriu}^ 

 ^-^11 r jilauts for late fall and the 

 Christmas holidays. The 

 flowering j) e r i o d com- 

 mences in November and, 

 with proper care, will con- 

 tinue until March. There is today a 

 varied assortment of colors and they 

 are all indispensable. Sometimes salmon 

 is called for, sometimes junk, or red, or 

 white, but it is variety which the pub- 

 lie likes and not one particular color. 

 As it requires about fifteen months to 

 grow marketable cyclamens from seed, 

 plants intended for sale next Thanks- 

 giving and Christmas — not to speak now 

 of Easter stock — should already liave a 

 good start. 



The seed may be sown as early as the 

 end of July or the first ])art of Augiist, 

 and in successive batches till January. 

 By this means the blooming period can 

 be prolonged from Tlianksgiviiig until 

 the following Easter, with tiie heaviest 

 crop at Christmas or wlienever it is 

 most desired. 



Sowing the Seed. 



On account of the fact tliat tiic seed 

 jiroduces a bulblet or corm Ix'fore leaf 

 growth is visible, the ]ir(icess nf 

 germination in its entirety occu])ies a 

 considerable length of time. In mod- 

 erat(! moisture, germination may be 

 completed in three or four weeks, but 

 may require as long as two months. 



Cyclamens come true 

 to color from seeds. 

 Named varieties from 

 first-class s e e d s m e n 

 may l)e depended on 

 generally to rejiroduce 

 themselves with only 

 slight variation. Red, 

 l)ink and salmon shades 

 are specially in de- 

 mand at the holidays. 

 For the seeds, use a 

 liglit comjiost, consist- 

 ing of onelialf leaf- 

 mold, one-fourth light, 

 sandy loam and one 

 fourtli s h a r p sand, 

 placed in shallow, well- 

 drained flats. Drop the 

 seeds evenly in rows. 

 Scatter a little sand 

 over the seeds and 

 press them in gently 

 with a ])ie(!e of board. 

 Place tlie seed flats in 

 a warm, moist hous(> 

 and keej) them pro- 

 tected from sunsliine. 

 The seed must not ,be 

 allowed to become dry. 

 After the small leaves 

 aj)pear, jtut the flats 

 on shelves near th(> 

 glass, in a tem])erature 

 of 55 to (50 degrees. 

 Stir the soil occasion- 

 ally and give a fine 

 sprayin[5 on bright 

 days, A Well 



When tlie little jilants arc well rstah- 

 lished and before tliey btcoiiu' crowded 

 in the fiats, transfer tlieiii to l!'^.-iiicli 

 or o-iiich jiots. For this first potting, ;i 

 comjiost consisting of equal jiarts ol' 

 fibrous loam and flaky leaf-mold, with 

 tin; j'.ddition of , soiiut sand, would br 

 suitable. As to the depth in ]ihiiiting, 

 put the bulblet or tiny corm even with 

 tli(> surface or just showing alio\e the 

 soil. I'lace tlie jiots in a temperature ot' 

 5.1 degrees at night, on a bi'iich that is 

 sup]died with a little bottom luat. 

 About inidsuninier another shift will lie 

 needeil, and the culture for this sum- 

 mer shift will be treated of later. 



Final Potting. 



The next rejiotting is the final one and 

 should occur, in the case of the main 

 crop, sometime in fSeptemher. It i^ 

 about this time that tiie jilaiits nuik<' 

 their most rapid growth, as the Aiiici- 

 icaii sumiiiers are too warm to Mill 

 cyclamens jierfectly. 



The flowering pots usu;ill\- an' 5 inch 

 or ti-iiicli, according to the \ig(ir of the 

 jilants. For tlie second and the (iiial 

 jiotting, the compost may be formed of 

 a fresh, tufty loam and a fourth or fifth 

 ]iart of well decayed horse manure, with 

 the addition of siiiiie sand if the soil is 

 heavy. In the late f;ill ;iiid early winter 

 some shade will still be desirable for ;i 

 few hours during the hottest fiart of the 

 d.'iy and one or two light sprayings d.'iily 

 will Ije benefici.al. The plants should be 

 on a light, sunny bench or slicdf, in a 

 temjierature of 50 to 55 degrees. Wln'ii 

 tlie ])ots are well filled witli roots, weak 



doses of liipiid manure or toji ilressings 

 wiih a good fertilizer will be in order. 

 Ill the first ]iart of December the shade 

 should be entirely removed and some 

 venlihition should be given when the 

 temperature rises above 05 degrees. A 

 temperature of 5<J degrees at night is 

 about right for the ])lants in flower. 



Ill the foregoing suggestions little has 

 lieeii said about the treatment of the 

 ipl.iiits ill midsummer, liecause that stage 

 of the culture is so important and crit- 

 ical as to re(|uire a paragraph or two 

 entirely tdr itself. Cyclamens may be 

 canieil through the summer with about 

 eipial success either in a greenhouse or 

 ill flames; the choice should be deter- 

 mined in accordance with the grower's 

 experience, the nature of the avail.able 

 house, and other circumstances. If the 

 grower has had no experience with cyc- 

 lamens in frames and if he has a well 

 \eiitilated, airy house, with the needed 

 facilities for shiuliiig, he may obtain 

 lietter results from greenhouse culture. 



Summer Shade. 



1 1' the shade can be of a movable na 

 tine, all the lietter, as shade during tlii' 

 scoii-hiiig hours is a necessity, while in 

 iiiorniiig and excuiiig .and on dull days 

 it is an injury. Do not jiut on a heavy 

 shailiiig of lime, or kerosene and wiiite 

 lead, as it would draw up the foliage 

 idii niiicli. W.'iter carefully. The ap- 

 pea ranee of ;i green scum on the surface 

 is .III indication that the jilants are get 

 ting an excess of wati'r. Scratch over 

 such surfaces frequently. Do not forget 

 to ui\-e the Jilants one tir two sjirayiiigs 

 daily, or thrijis are lia 

 lile to get a foothold 

 .iiid are hard to (Ms- 

 lodge. For the control 

 of aphis, f.ait hful week- 

 ly fumigations .ari' 

 necessary. These fumi- 

 gations, with jilenty of 

 li^ht and juire air, will 

 yci far toward siibdii 

 iiig the dri'adeil mite. 

 If the greenhouse 

 becomes too hot during 

 the day, it will be well 

 to try the jdan of 

 e rowing at least part 

 of the stock in cold- 

 tr.imes. Partly jiluuge 

 the jKits in clean coal 

 ashes. Lay lath shades 

 without sashes over 

 them during the w;irm- 

 est lioiirs of the day. 

 Remove these at 4 :;'><• 

 |i. m. ami do not jilace 

 them over the jilants 

 earlier than 9:30 or in 

 a. 111. Spray the plants 

 sever.al times daily. 

 I'lace sashes over the 



I> 1 a n t s onlyj-" w h e n 

 lieavv rains tlireaten: 



rainfalls are ben.' 

 as are fogs. If 

 jirefer to use 



Grown Cyclamen Is One of t'ae Finest Blooming Plants. 



I 



light 



fi.'ial 



you 



sashes which are shaded 



during tlie ilay, tilt 



these uj) well at both 



t(^p and bottom, to al- 



