florist cylcamen was: Primulas from the big box
- Subject: florist cylcamen was: Primulas from the big box
- From: M* T*
- Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 22:51:36 -0500
Sue, Sue...your florist's cyclamen doesn't have to be disposable!!
I
have been growing these guys continuously for years. All you need
to
give it is bright light and the coolest room in the house - anything
above freezing will do. What kills them off is too warm a room and
too much water/soggy roots. They want sharp drainage.
Before I got my greenhouse, used to keep them in an east facing bay
window in our bedroom, which we keep about 55-60F in
winter...bloomed
their heads off...set seed; it sprouted and now I have more than I
really, really want:-) Now, I summer them outside in the shade and
bring them into the greenhouse for winter where it gets around 40F
and sometimes a tad colder and they don't mind at all...just bloom
away...have over a dozen pots down there blooming right now...love
cyclamen!
BTW, the newer cultivars don't really go totally dormant - at least
some of them. They just sort of rest during summer and lose some
leaves. Some don't lose any leaves; just stop blooming until cool
weather sets in again. You don't want to force dormancy on
them...been there, done that and killed a plant with a 3" dia.
tuber...learned lesson.
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
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> > From: ScarletSage <ScarletSage@ATT.NET>
> (snip)>
> > My other pleasure is a "florist" cyclamen that I bought for $3.99
> that has
> > been covered with blossoms for almost a month now. It will
> ultimately be
> > disposable, but is a much better bargain than cut flowers.
> > Sue
> > ScarletSage@att.net
> > Zone 6, south-central PA
> >
>
