What are the summer care methods for cyclamen?

Cyclamen prefers a cool, moist climate, and its most suitable growing temperature is 15°C to 20°C. When the temperature exceeds 30°C, it tends to lose its leaves and enter a dormant state; when it exceeds 35°C, it is prone to heat rot and may even die. In summer, the most important thing for keeping cyclamen thriving is cooling it down.

1. Maintain a cool environment. Cyclamen is a low-temperature bulbous flower that prefers a cool, moist environment with ample sunlight. It fears the hot summer most, especially older bulbs. Although new bulbs are more resistant, they will also stop growing and enter a semi-dormant state under hot climate conditions. Therefore, before midsummer arrives, new plants of the current year should be placed in a cool, ventilated place that is also sheltered from rain, receiving partial light, and at noon water should be sprinkled on the shading material and the ground to lower the temperature. For perennial old plants, in summer they should be placed on a north-facing balcony, windowsill or under a shaded eaves. When the weather is hot, water should frequently be sprinkled on the ground to lower the temperature and increase humidity, but the potting soil should not be too wet.

2. Reasonable fertilizing and watering. For flowering cyclamen, after the summer temperature rises, the leaves will gradually wither and turn yellow. At this time, watering should be reduced to let the corm enter a dormant state. Once the leaves have withered and the potting soil has dried, place it in a ventilated, shaded place, but the potting soil must not become too dry, otherwise the corm will shrivel and die. For new plants of the current year, fertilizing should stop after June, watering should be controlled, and after the weather turns cool, water and fertilizer should be increased again to promote the growth of the corm and leaves. If they are seedlings sown before Spring Festival, they can generally bloom the same year. For perennial old plants, from the beginning of summer to early June, gradually reduce watering and stop fertilizing. After the weather turns cool in early September, water slightly more to make the potting soil slightly moist. At this time the corm gradually sprouts new shoots. When the new shoots grow to 3 cm high, repot and change the soil. Strengthen water and fertilizer management, let it receive more sunlight to help flower bud formation, and around Spring Festival it will bloom successively.

3. Repot and change the soil in time. Every year from July to August, cyclamen enters a dormant state and all its leaves fall off. After the weather turns cool in September, new shoots emerge, and at this time it should be repotted and the soil changed in time. When changing the soil, damage the new roots as little as possible, and only remove the dead old roots. Soak the corm in a 0.1% potassium permanganate solution for 10 minutes to disinfect it, then place it in a 5 to 1oppm gibberellin solution and soak for 15 minutes. Take it out, let it dry, and replant it in the pot. This can break dormancy and prompt it to wake up. When planting the corm, it is better to plant it shallow rather than deep, leaving two-thirds or one-half of the corm above the soil surface.

How should cyclamen be cared for in summer?

Common sense tells us that in summer, when temperatures are high and evaporation is great, we should water flowers and plants more to keep them from drying out. This is especially true for growers like me with advanced obsessive-compulsive disorder, who feel itchy-handed whenever we see dry soil.

But common sense often comes with preconditions. Some flowers and plants that go dormant in summer have slow metabolism and stalled growth, and if you give them a heavy drink of water, you may never see them sprout again.

Summer temperatures are high, and some plants that are sensitive to heat resist it by going dormant. At this time, they stop growing, and their leaves turn yellow and fall off, but do not mistakenly think that you have killed them by your care.

Even when these plants are asleep, they are not idle. Transpiration continues, and the roots need a certain amount of humidity, so watering cannot be cut off completely.

Flowers that go fully dormant in summer enter dormancy earlier, mostly beginning in early summer, and their leaves all fall off, such as cyclamen, spider lily, and Lycoris radiata. Semi-dormant flowers enter dormancy starting in midsummer, almost stopping growth or growing slowly, accompanied by leaf withering and falling, such as China pink, fuchsia, begonia, southernwood, and geranium.

Let us look at how to help these summer-dormant plants get through the hot summer.

Cyclamen

Cyclamen is a New Year flower that blooms around Spring Festival. Once summer comes and the temperature rises above 30°C, it will slowly go dormant, and its leaves will wither, yellow and drop. Cyclamen, which likes a cool, moist, shaded environment, is very prone to rot above 35°C, so it is generally allowed to go completely dormant.

▶ Care during dormancy:

1. Keep 5 cm of leaf stalk, trim off all leaves, dig up the corm together with the soil, and, on the premise of not harming the corm, remove some unnecessary old roots;

2. Transplant the trimmed plant into a new pot one size larger than the original, change the medium to one with more granular soil, creating a loose, breathable, well-drained soil environment to avoid root rot;

3. Let 1/3 of the corm be exposed above the soil surface; the growing point must not be buried;

4. Move the dormant pot to a cool place without direct sunlight and without rain;

5. After the soil dries out completely, water a small amount, being careful to avoid the corm, watering around the edge, and wait for it to revive in autumn.

Bulbous plants such as narcissus, tulips, hyacinths, and freesias also go dormant in summer. Their bulbs can be dug out and stored in a ventilated, cool, dry place.

Summer care methods for cyclamen

         Cyclamen is a perennial herbaceous plant of the primrose family. It blooms around Spring Festival, with flowers clustered at the top, bright and beautiful, and is deeply loved by people. It is a common variety for home flower growing. Cyclamen likes a warm environment and cannot tolerate high temperatures or severe cold. The maximum temperature must not exceed 30°C, otherwise it will enter a dormant state, and at around 35°C it is prone to rot and necrosis. How to get it safely through summer becomes the key to growing cyclamen well.

        Summer care for cyclamen is divided into care for new plants of the current year and care for perennial old plants. Care for new seedlings of the current year: in summer, a cool environment should be created, cooling measures taken, and frequent misting and shading used so that they continue to grow. After summer arrives, place new plants in a cool, ventilated place to receive partial light. At this time, stop fertilizing and control watering. After the weather turns cool, increase water and fertilizer again to promote vigorous growth of stems and leaves. Care for perennial old plants: after the Beginning of Summer, place them on a north-facing balcony, windowsill or under a shaded eaves. Starting in late May, gradually reduce watering, stop fertilizing, pay attention to ventilation, and do not let the potting soil become too wet; slightly moist is best.

        Cyclamen fears waterlogging. If watered too much so that the moisture in the potting soil is often in a saturated state, the corm and roots will be suffocated for a long time, which easily leads to corm rot. After the weather turns cool in October, water a little more appropriately to make the potting soil slightly moist. At this time new shoots gradually sprout. When the new shoots grow to about 3 cm, repot and change the soil, strengthen water and fertilizer management, and let it receive more sunlight, which helps flower bud formation, and it will bloom around Spring Festival.