14 



1 he Florists^ Review 



Jandaby 23, 1913. 



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PLANT GROWERS' 

 ^^^.^ DEPARTMENT 



CYCLAMEN CULTURE. 



[A paper by Christ Wlnterlch, of Defiance, 0., 

 read by Simon Humfeld before the Northern 

 Indiana Florists' Association at Columbia City, 

 Ind., January 15.] 



The time to sow cyclamen seed varies 

 according to when you want them in 

 bloom. The latter part of July or the 

 first part of August is a good time to 

 sow in order to make good plants in fif- 

 teen to sixteen months, or by the sec- 

 ond Christmas after the sowing. Other 

 sowings can be made until January. 

 Seed sown as late as January would, 

 perhaps, with good culture and every- 

 thing favorable, make strong 4-inch and 

 5-inch pot plants, but do not expect 

 them to bloom as early as those from 

 seed sown in August. 



Your success in growing cyclamens 

 depends greatly upon the strain of seed 

 used. Always get the best seed grown, 

 and of the highest standard, and your 

 disappointments, at least in the flower- 

 ing qualities, will be less. This I want 

 to emphasize as of the utmost impor- 

 tance. 



Sowing the Seeds. 



We are sowing our cyclamens in flats 

 12x20x3 inches, inside measure, in rows 

 one and one-half inches apart, and 

 we drop the seeds about one-fourth of 

 an inch apart in the rows. Of course 

 we usually piake a sowing of from 

 50,000 to 75,000 at a time. For a flo- 

 rist who only grows from 100 to sev- 

 eral thousands, I would advise that he 

 BOW the single seeds about one intfh 

 apart each way, grow them on until 

 the plants have a nice ball of roots es- 

 tablished and then shift them into flats, 

 about two to two and one-half inches 

 apart, or into 2^-inch pots. I recom- 

 mend the latter method, as they are 

 thus handled better, and make stockier 

 plants. 



A good soil to sow in would be a 

 loose mixture of about two-thirds leaf- 

 mold, with some loam and sand added. 

 This compost may do, also, for the first 

 shift. For each successive shift add 

 more loam and old hotbed soil. For the 

 last two shifts we use some horn shav- 

 ings or m^al, mixed with the soil in the 

 proportion of a 4-inch potful to a bushel 

 of soil. 



Set the seed flats, thinly covered with 

 sand, on a mild hotbed with not too 

 much ventilation, or in a greenhouse 

 where you can keep the air moderately 

 moist until the seeds germinate, which 

 takes about four to five weeks. Keep 

 them shaded and moist and increase 

 the light gradually as the seedlings 

 make their appearance. Loosen the soil 

 around the plants with a label and 

 keep the moss removed, should any 

 form. Do this every two or three 

 weeks, as this is essential to the growth 

 of strong and healthy plants. 



Shifting Along. 



We transplant the first batch into 

 other flats about eight to ten weeks 



after they germinate, planting them 

 about one and one-half inches apart. 

 We then set them on shelves near the 

 glass and give them an average night 

 temperature of about 52 to 55 degrees, 

 with 10 degrees more heat in the day- 

 time. Give them plenty of fresh air; 

 never let the air become close, or the 

 plants will weaken, and such plants are 

 hard to get through the hot summer 

 months. Do not shade cyclamens from 

 the middle of October until the first 

 part of March. Give all the light pos- 

 sible until you 6ee the plants are in 

 danger of wilting; then, with some fine 

 spiunklings, you might have to shade 

 them only during the hottest part of 

 the day. A sprinkling two or three 

 times on a hot day will help to make 

 large bulblets, and, of course, the plants 

 will greatly benefit by it. I use a spray 

 that produces a fine mist, as a coarse 

 spray would keep the plants wet and 

 soggy> which should be avoided. The 

 idea is to keep the small bulblets moist. 

 This also can be accomplished by using 

 a thin mulch of half rotted leaves. I 

 found this excellent for such plants as 

 fell behind the balance of the lot, and 

 also to start 2-year-old plants on with, 

 but this growing a cyclamen the second 

 year should be abandoned, as they will 

 only produce fine plants with the best 

 of care and plenty of fertilizer. 



Pot up the plants so that the bulb- 

 lets are just covered after the first wa- 

 tering. I warn everyone not to plant 

 too deeply, as that would make spin- 

 dling plants and weak bulbs. If 

 planted too high, the bulbs grow hard 

 and will never make thriving plants. 

 This is important enough in the grow- 

 ing of cyclamens to look after well 

 while potting. 



Hotbed and Frame Culttire. 



We manage to have our plants from 

 the first sowing in 3-inch or 4-inch pots 

 by the end of March, when they go on 

 a mild hotbed. In the beginning keep 

 the bed rather close, until you notice 

 their root action. Shade them only in 

 bright sunshine and sprinkle the plants 

 at least once or twice a day, according 

 to the weather. Keep the bottom heat 

 at about 70 to 80 degrees. Gradually 

 give more ventilation and maintain a 

 temperature of about 55 to 65 degrees 

 above the plants; a much warmer at- 

 mosphere will make spindling plants 

 and a much cooler one will give them a 

 backset. Shift whenever the pot ball 

 is fairly well rooted. Do not let them 

 get potbound and do not give them too 

 large a shift. Put in about one-fifth 

 drainage, for which washed coal ashes 

 or coarse sand is the best material. 

 Cyclamens, more than any other plants, 

 enjoy clean pots. They also enjoy a 

 mild hotbed, though this is not abso- 

 lutely necessary. 



A greenhouse facing to the north, 

 and one that will not get too hot dur- 

 ing early spring, will produce good 



plants, providing you maintain a moist 

 atmosphere until you have a coldframe, 

 which was used as a hotbed for bed- 

 ding plants, ready to plunge them in, 

 ashes being the best plunging material. 

 When shifting into larger pots, set 

 the plants so that the bulb is about 

 covered by the soil. The first watering 

 will then settle the soil to about three- 

 fourths or one-half the bulb. If planted 

 too high the bulb will get hard too soon 

 and may burst and set on the buds too 

 early. On the other hand, when planted 

 too deeply the plants get spindling and 

 the flower stems rot easily. 



The Commonest Mistakes. 



Most of the mistakes are made in 

 watering, by keeping the plants too wet 

 and soggy. Let them dry out fairly 

 well before you give another watering. 

 This will keep the soil sweet, which is 

 of the utmost importance in growing 

 choice cyclamens. 



The shade" should not be too dense. 

 I use sashes made out of 1 14 -inch strips 

 the length of the sash, with an open 

 space of about li4-iiich, the entire sash 

 3x6 feet. These we lay over the plants 

 so that they can be watered Without 

 lifting the shades, but they should be 

 removed towards evening, so that the 

 night dew can freshen the plants up 

 and keep them short. 



The last shift we usually make in 

 August or September. It then is ad- 

 visable to set the plants so that the 

 bulb stands about one-half in the soil. 

 This is important to the setting of the 

 buds. The plants bloom with more 

 flowers at one time; also, the buds are 

 not so liable to rot oflf and the plants 

 are more easily kept clean. 



In the latter part of October we com- 

 mence to house the plants. Up to this 

 time we have the beds covered with 

 mats during cold nights. Do not make 

 the mistake of setting the plants too 

 close together, as this is the time when 

 the plants should have all the room 

 you can spare them, to make shapely 

 specimens. No shade now is required. 

 Should the sun make it unpleasant for 

 the plants, give them a fine sprinkling 

 to keep them from wilting. But they 

 should have been gradually accustomed 

 to the bright weather while they were 

 out in the beds. 



Air Is Needed. 



A free circulation of fresh air is 

 beneficial. Water carefully; never 

 drop the water right on the head of 

 the plant, as it might rot the buds and 

 leaves close to the bulb. The plants 

 should be set over almost every two 

 weeks. They will need more room every 

 time you clean them out. Pull the 

 flower and leaf stems right out; do 

 not cut them oflF, as they might rot 

 down to the bulb. 



Do not try to force a cyclamen by 

 raising the temperature, for if this is 

 done the plants will become spindling 

 and the flowers will be small and im- 

 perfect. The only way to help a cycla- 

 ftien along in bringing it to bloom 

 early is to give a good, bright 

 house, with a night temperature of from 

 55 degrees to not above 60 degrees, with 

 some ventilation to give a good circu- 

 lation of air around the plants. Some 

 growers set the plants on inverted pots 

 to get the latter result. 



Should it be desired to hold them 

 back until late in spring, or for Easter, 



