Cyclamenes are incredibly attractive plants. When you see them in a flower shop, it's hard to resist buying. Unfortunately, it often happens that at home they quickly lose their beauty - the flowers droop and the leaves turn yellow. Flower growers complain about their finicky, but it's all about wrong care. And if you know how to care for a cyclamen, it will blossom blossom every year.
Cyclamen - how to care after purchase?
First of all, one must understand that this flower has a flowering period alternating with a rest period, so that the yellowing of the leaves and the wilting of the flowers can be a natural change of period. So do not worry, if soon after the purchase your flower has lost all its attractiveness.
Be sure to after the purchase, transplant the flower, because they sell it in a light peat mass to facilitate transportation. But it is not enough to feed the plant.
It is important to ensure proper storage of the tuber of the asleep flower, so that it can safely "wake up". Do not store the tuber in the refrigerator and completely dry ground. This will lead to the fact that the flower can not be awakened. Especially if the flower is young.
When the flower begins to dry out and fall off the leaves, just reduce the watering and stop feeding. After a while the cyclamen will come to life and again let out leaves and peduncles.
Cyclamen - transplant and care
Transplantation of cyclamens should be carried out no more than once in 2-3 years. Each next pot should be slightly larger than the previous one. Depth of planting depends on the type of cyclamen. So, the Persian likes to see the top of the tuber looking above the surface of the earth, and the European roots are better to choke.
As for the soil, the flower likes a loose, slightly acidic substrate. Suitable ground for violets. Do not forget about good drainage. The pot itself should not be deep and too wide.
Care of a cyclamen in a pot at home
The plant does not tolerate high temperatures. The ideal place for him is a cool window sill with scattered light. It will be even on the north window. And from direct sun rays on the leaves, burns may appear. In a bright and cool place the cyclamen will not stretch and will feel fine. The temperature should not be above +13-16ºC.
During the growth period, water the flower regularly, but do not allow moisture to stagnate. Water better in a tray or submerged method, so that water does not get to the top of the tuber. Also cyclamen likes high humidity. However, spraying its leaves is strictly prohibited. It is better to put a roller coaster with a flower on a wet gravel or next to a room fountain.
When caring for cyclamens in winter, that is, while it is actively blooming, it should be regularly fed with complex fertilizers for flowering plants. Do this only during the vegetation period, that is, from spring to autumn, about once every 2-3 weeks.
To prevent rot and death of the flower, remove all the wilted leaves and peduncles, twisting them completely out of the tuber. With the onset of the rest period (its beginning is in April-May), it is necessary to gradually reduce irrigation, stop feeding.
Tuber must be stored in a cool place all summer, occasionally moistening the soil. In September, the cyclamen will wake up and release buds.
How to distinguish between European and Persian cyclamen?
If you buy a blooming cyclamen in winter, most likely it's a Persian look. And if it blooms in the spring and summer - European. To make sure, look under the leaf: if the bottom surface of its purple, before you is a purple (European) cyclamen. The Persian has the underside of the leaf green.
The tuber of the Persian cyclamen has a flat shape and does not form shoots, whereas the European one with time forms "children" - daughter nodules. In the pot of the Persian flower the tuber protrudes above the surface, while in the European one it sits deep in the ground.