| Author |
Message |
    
Shirley1md
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 09, 2005 - 07:40 pm EST : |   
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First seed that germinated from C. cilicium. Doesn't look like to much yet!
Shirley Maryland Zone 7a |
Terryk
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 09, 2005 - 09:49 pm EST : |
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Do you have this under lights now Shirley? Once you start to get germination in the pot you can put them under florescent lights. The rest will germinate.
Terryk
- NY,
Zone "6"
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Shirley1md
| | Posted on Thursday, November 10, 2005 - 07:30 pm EST : |
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I haven't put it under grow lights yet. Are you telling me to put the entire container under lights or very carefully transplant this tiny seedling into its own pot? It seems so early to be doing this.
Shirley Maryland Zone 7a |
Terryk
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Thursday, November 10, 2005 - 10:59 pm EST : |
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Shirley I know this is confusing but yes put the whole pot under lights. First cover the remaining soil with a bit more grit and this will keep the seeds "in the dark". Little by little they will still germinate. Tim gave me this advise last year and it is 100% correct.
You want to put them under lights to keep the seedlings from stretching for light and in the process becoming long and leggy. Just watch as you may have to water just a bit earlier than when they are not under the lights. But water lightly, you don't want to drown them.
Trust me it works. I have put my pots under the lights with one seedling popping through the soil and I now have a pot full of seedlings. You can start to transplant when almost all the seeds in a pot have germinated.
Terryk
- NY,
Zone "6"
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Terryk
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Thursday, November 10, 2005 - 11:02 pm EST : |
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By the way another pot of my coum looks like it will have a flower too. From what I can see, it looks like it will be a pink one. I will post a picture soon.
Terryk
- NY,
Zone "6"
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Shirley1md
| | Posted on Sunday, November 13, 2005 - 09:31 pm EST : |
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I added more perlite to my container to keep the ungerminated seeds in the dark. Then, I place the container with the one germinated seedling under a light. Can't wait until I see the leaves on this baby!
Shirley Maryland Zone 7a |
Terryk
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Monday, November 14, 2005 - 05:56 am EST : |
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Shirley be patient. The trick is now to keep them moist enough so the rest of the pot germinates. I am growing some too, and my pot has quite a few seedlings germinated.
The next step will be transplanting.
I have found that many of the nurseries here close up after the holidays and don't re-open till March. So try to get some large bags of seed starting soil now and some perlite too. A good nursery may order the perlite for you. I have a huge bag downstairs that I have been mixing with the soil to Tim's recommended ratio. The other things to think about is lights and shelving. It is amazing how those little seedlings as they are transplanted take up quite a bit of room because you will have one seedling per pot. If you have one pot of cilicium with 16 seeds, it will translate into almost a full tray of seedlings. So if you went crazy when you ordered from Tim, welcome to my world!
Terryk
- NY,
Zone "6"
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Shirley1md
| | Posted on Monday, November 14, 2005 - 07:29 pm EST : |
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Terryk wrote on Monday, November 14, 2005 - 03:56 am:The trick is now to keep them moist enough so the rest of the pot germinates.
How often do you water your containers? I had been misting them once a week when the lid was still on the container. Now that I've taken the lid off, should I mist or actually water the container maybe twice a week? I don't want it too wet.
Excellent idea to stock up on seedling soil & perlite!
Patience is not one of my strengths....need to work on that more!
Shirley Maryland Zone 7a |
Terryk
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Monday, November 14, 2005 - 09:57 pm EST : |
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Watering is such a tricky thing with cyclamen at least when we are new at it.
At this point I would switch to watering rather than misting. Tim has suggested that it is important to water a bit more often when the seedlings are young as opposed to a mature plant. I think you want to get in the habit of checking the soil first. If you can gently brush off some of the grit and feel the soil this is a good habit to get into. If you touch the soil and it is damp put the grit back on and leave them alone for a few more days. Watering once a week should be good. I run the water over the pots a few times till I see just a bit of water dripping out when the pot is held up. If you have a good soil mix that has all the perlite in it, you should not land up with soggy pots.
Once you transplant the seedlings into individual pots, you can poke around the soil easier and not have to worry about upsetting the seeds. Then I even stick my finger into the soil a bit. If it is still damp in the lower portion of the pot, you can hold off and check again in a few more days before watering.
Tim (or any of the more seasoned cyclamen growers), should you read the post and think it should be corrected, please add your thoughts.
Terryk
- NY,
Zone "6"
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Shirley1md
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 15, 2005 - 10:27 pm EST : |
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I appreciate all your help & guidance. I will keep you updated on how my one seedling is growing and when I get more germination. Thanks so much, Terry!
Shirley Maryland Zone 7a |
Terryk
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - 05:10 am EST : |
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I hope it helps Shirley. By the way it looks like I missed your birthday yesterday. Hope you had a great day!
Terryk
- NY,
Zone "6"
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Shirley1md
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - 08:19 pm EST : |
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Thanks so much for your birthday wishes! It's very much appreciated!!
Shirley Maryland Zone 7a |
