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Author Topic: Cyclamen 2007  (Read 13893 times)

JohnLonsdale

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Re: Cyclamen 2007
« Reply #45 on: September 24, 2007, 01:14:48 PM »
Hi Lesley,

Very observant ;)

There's a few C. rohlfsianum on that bench!

These have all been grown from seed and the majority have been selected for leaf form.  Every year I go through them and put a stick in those with the pots with the poorest flowers.  If the leaves aren't wonderful then off they go.  The C. graecum ssp. candicum and anatolicum are my favorites, graecum ssp. graecum tends to be taller in flower and looser in leaf, so they have to be really good to earn their keep.

They seem to like our conditions and flower very reliably.  Seed set is non-existant unless I move the pots outside for a few days and let the insects get to work.

Best,

John
John T Lonsdale PhD
407 Edgewood Drive,
Exton, Pennsylvania 19341, USA

Home: 610 594 9232
Cell: 484 678 9856
Fax: 801 327 1266

Visit "Edgewood" - The Lonsdale Garden at http://www.edgewoodgardens.net

USDA Zone 6b

tonyg

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Re: Cyclamen 2007
« Reply #46 on: September 24, 2007, 03:43:20 PM »
And I thought I was doing well with C graecum  :) :)
Plastic pots, unplunged, OK so its under glass and summer is reliably warm but .... WOW!
I get lots of seed from mine both in pots and plunged but then I'm not in control of things like John is, mine get visited by any insect who happens to fly in.
Are they kept frost-free in winter John?

ian mcenery

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Re: Cyclamen 2007
« Reply #47 on: September 24, 2007, 07:22:05 PM »
Wonderful pictures and plants John. Ah one day !!!!
Ian McEnery Sutton Coldfield  West Midlands 600ft above sea level

JohnLonsdale

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Re: Cyclamen 2007
« Reply #48 on: September 25, 2007, 12:45:45 AM »
Yes, frost free, at least at the level of the benches.  The pots near the bottom vents will freeze sometimes.  The gas heater comes on when the roof gets down to 45F.  The exhaust fans come on when the temperature rises above about 55F so it is a fine balancing act to save blasting all that expensive warm air back out! 

The smallest round pots are about 5", the 'terracotta' ones are about 6 1/2" and the big round ones about 9".  They don't get a drop of water from mid-June to mid-September but I'm sure they never get completely dry.  It still amazes me when repotting bulbs to find damp compost at the bottom of a square 4 1/2" pot a couple of months after it was last watered - and that is with our heat.  The 3 1/2" pots all dry thoroughly - it is amazing what a difference an extra inch makes.

These pots remain uncovered in summer, but I put 1/3" thick sheets of building insulation styrofoam over the other cyclamen once fully dormant - it really helps prevent desiccation, particularly with the seedlings.  Hederifolium always desiccates first - but the tubers look just as tough as graecum and persicum, whereas mirabile looks very suceptible but never desiccates.  Coum and the repandum complex are somewhere in the middle.

With us hitting the high 80sF over the next few days, and with undiluted sun for weeks now, I still have 60% shade cloth on the greenhouses.  I'll probably roll it up some at the weekend, as the leaves are starting to appear.

I water overhead using a 15" wand - a great tool that makes a fine but powerful curtain of water and is perfect for watering a lot of pots evenly.

Best,

J.
John T Lonsdale PhD
407 Edgewood Drive,
Exton, Pennsylvania 19341, USA

Home: 610 594 9232
Cell: 484 678 9856
Fax: 801 327 1266

Visit "Edgewood" - The Lonsdale Garden at http://www.edgewoodgardens.net

USDA Zone 6b

ranunculus

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Re: Cyclamen 2007
« Reply #49 on: September 25, 2007, 11:21:01 AM »
You must be SO disappointed with that empty pot at the front John!!!!    ::)

Fabulous collection and immaculate photos...thanks for sharing.
Cliff Booker
Behind a camera in Whitworth. Lancashire. England.

Lesley Cox

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Re: Cyclamen 2007
« Reply #50 on: September 26, 2007, 12:25:51 AM »
You must be SO disappointed with that empty pot at the front John!!!!    ::)

I bet it's not empty, just a bit later coming through :D
Lesley Cox - near Dunedin, lower east coast, South Island of New Zealand - Zone 9

 


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