| Author |
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Tim
| | Posted on Sunday, November 26, 2006 - 02:33 pm EST : |   
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I used to sow all of my cyclamen seeds in 3 1/2 inch pots, 16 seeds to a pot, but now that I have many more pressures on my time I don't do that anymore. It's much quicker for me to just sprinkle a good dollop of seed on the compost surface, sieving a little more compost over the seeds and then topping off with fine grit. This is the result:
There is a downside to doing this, especially as I like to prick out as soon as possible and that downside is that the seedlings are much more difficult to handle at such a young age. It's pretty much impossible to get every seedling out of the pot with a small plug of compost around the tuber and I have found that seedlings with no compost around the tuber and/roots need very special care. It seems as if they are more prone to overwatering at this stage, so I have adjusted my seedling mix accordingly, making it even more well drained.
The seedlings in the pot are C. cyprium and the photo demonstrates very well how the pattern on the cotyledon is often (but certainly not always) no indication of what the leaf pattern will look like once the plant has matured. I don't think I've seen anything other than plain cotyledons on C. cyprium.
Tim
- Cambridgeshire,
Zone "7 "
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Berthold
| | Posted on Sunday, November 26, 2006 - 06:16 pm EST : |
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Tim, same to me.
Berthold
- NRW, Germany,
Zone "8a"
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Terryk
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Monday, November 27, 2006 - 06:50 am EST : |
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Tim, I have found that even when I get them out of the pot sooner than later that I loose the "plug". Currently I am using a seed starting soil mix with half perlite. Are you adding more perlite than that? I also have been adding a drop or two of house plant fertilizer to the more mature plants. I add it most times when I water.
Terryk
- NY,
Zone "6"
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Tim
| | Posted on Monday, November 27, 2006 - 12:15 pm EST : |
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Terry, I don't use perlite in my seed mix anymore. It's just plain peat based compost. I find that it's a little easier to retain that plug of compost around the tuber if the mix is wet. It sticks to the tuber if it's like that.
Funny you should mention feeding you cyclamen because I have also been doing this since the summer. I feed a full dose of plain old tomato feed every time I water - it's cheap! The purpurascens in particular seem to be really benefiting from it, with lots of lush foliage being produced as a result.
Tim
- Cambridgeshire,
Zone "7 "
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Terryk
My Weather
My Garden
My Time
| | Posted on Monday, November 27, 2006 - 12:49 pm EST : |
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That's interesting news Tim on your soil. How long have you abandoned the perlite? Do you find you have to water less frequently because the soil retains the moisture a bit more?
My fertilizer is a liquid Miracle Grow for house plants.
Terryk
- NY,
Zone "6"
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Tim
| | Posted on Thursday, November 30, 2006 - 03:23 pm EST : |
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I don't know when I stopped using it if I'm honest, Terry. I do still use it in my potting on mix though and will continue to do so.
I suppose the soil does hold the moisture for longer but the seed pots never did need watering that often anyway. It's still mild here and seeds are still germinating.
Tim
- Cambridgeshire,
Zone "7 "
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