In order to get quality seeds at home, artificial pollination is necessary. It is best if pollination is cross-contaminated. To get the seeds from the cyclamen, use a soft brush to take the pollen from the flower of one plant and transfer it to the stigma of the pistil of another. To make the result please, it is better to do this procedure two or three times. Pollination should be carried out in the morning hours of a clear, sunny day, this contributes to the faster formation of ovaries. To reproduce the cyclamen seeds was successful, in pollination, be sure to feed the plant with phosphorus-potassium fertilizers. We raise in a liter of water 1 g of superphosphate and 0.5 g of potassium sulfate. At the ovary the capsule begins to increase in size. If in two months after pollination the capsule has not grown, then it is empty. For pollination do not use young plants and the first flowers in the season. If the seeds are dried after harvesting, their germination will significantly decrease. In the shops you will be offered cyclamen seeds, ready for planting. But they are less reliable than those grown at home.
Cyclamen Cultivation from Seeds
Cyclamen from seeds is grown less often than by dividing the tuber, since flowering comes much later. Seeds grow long enough and unevenly for a month. Sow the seeds should be separately in plastic cups, but allowed and planted in a single container. If you decide to sow several different species at once, then you should follow some rules. Seeds of the cyclamen of Europe can never be sown together with other species, only with different varieties or subspecies of the European species. Persian species generally better to sow only separately, this will significantly increase the germination.
The process of growing cyclamen from seeds begins with soaking in a 5% solution of sugar. We take only the seeds that have fallen to the bottom. Further on a day it is necessary to soak suitable seeds in a solution of a zikron. For seeding, a light substrate is suitable. Mix leaf land with peat in equal proportions, instead of leaf earth, you can use vermiculite.
Seeds should be placed on the surface of the moistened substrate, then sprinkled with a layer of 1 cm of soil. When germinating, light is not needed. The boxes can be covered with a film. Keep the temperature at 20 ° C. Remember that a rise in temperature will trigger a slowdown in growth and the seeds will simply fall into a hibernation. Allowing temperature drops below 18 ° C is also detrimental to the seeds, they can corrupt. Make sure that the soil is constantly wet and periodically ventilate the boxes.
As a rule, under all conditions, seedlings begin to germinate after 40 days. As soon as the seed yields, we move the boxes to a well-ventilated and illuminated place. During this period, the temperature should be maintained at about 15 ° C and avoid direct sunlight.
As soon as the seedlings are formed small tubers with a pair of leaves, it's time to dive in a container with the prepared mixture. We mix two parts of leaf land, one part of peat and half of sand. During the picking, the tubers must be covered with soil, although in an adult plant it should be slightly visible above the soil level.
Cyclamen, grown from seeds, needs good care. A week after the pick-up, we begin to feed. Fertilizers are diluted two times less than indicated on the package. It is allowed to top dress with a 0.2% solution of ammonium sulfate (2 grams per liter of water), after 10 days, add 0.1% potassium nitrate solution. Reproduction of the cyclamen by seeds takes from 13 to 15 months.