Sunday, September 30

Living indoors

I wrote recently about our cyclamen hederifolia and how they are aiming for garden domination. I also mentioned that I had grown a couple of cyclamen varieties from seed and mentioned an outdoor one cyclamen coum.

I also grew an indoor variety of cyclamen - Lazer which proved to be really successful. The plants sat on a windowsill all autumn/winter and flowered their socks off. 
I had expected that the plants would die down through spring and summer and that the tubers would go dormant but this didn't happen and the plants continued to produce a few flowers all year.

In June they looked like this. The smaller plants are the outdoor cyclamen coum.
I wonder whether the really cool summer has caused the plants to think that it was still winter or early spring. I just hope they don't wear themselves out.

Recently the plant leaves were looking a little worse for wear having been nibbled by what I assumed were slugs and snails. This was proved a correct assumption when I found a couple of snails sleeping on the sides of the pots. I also found some tiny baby snails on some of the leaves. Before bringing the plants inside the house I obviously needed to eliminate as many freeloaders as I could and clean up the plants and pots. I removed each plant from the pot and whilst scraping off old compost found several baby slugs and snails as well as their eggs in the compost. There were also some tiny woodlice. All unwelcome guests were removed and each plant was repotted using some fresh compost but keeping to the same size pots. I maybe should have potted them into a larger pot but then I wouldn't have had room for them all in the house!
During my potting activities I caught a faint perfume coming from one of the flowers - strange I haven't noticed this before. Some of the flowers have produced seed capsules so I have decided to leave one capsule on each plant and allow it to swell. I'm hoping that this way the plant won't suffer too much and if the seeds mature I can try germinating them to see what happens. One seed capsule is already well on the way to maturity. Notice that unlike cyclamen hederifolia the stems supporting the seed capsules don't coil into a spring they just lazily hang down in an untidy fashion.
The tidy plants are now back inside on a windowsill. I'd really like some small pottery trough-shaped containers to pop them in but until I find some they will have to snuggle together in the plant trays they lived in last year.


22 comments:

  1. It seems you've got some hard working plants there, both the indoor and outdoor varieties. They're both serving you well. The only houseplants I have are a couple of orchids.

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    1. I have an orchid that I have just managed to get a flower stalk on, Jo - it's in bud.
      I've never managed to get one to flower again before. No doubt this will feature in a later post.

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    2. I've had mine for about four years now, they've both just thrown up a new flower spike. Once the flowers fade, I just cut off the stalks at the base and it isn't usually long before they start the cycle again.

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  2. Well after all that T.L.C. I sure hope they flourish well over the next winter. It would be great too if you managed to get some good seed off the plants as you could start more seedlings...at this rate you'll be able to start your own shop!!

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    1. I'm just wondering if I'll get a different colour via cross pollination Tanya. If I do you're sure to find out.

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    2. Maybe you will event a whole new colour Sue...then you could enter the T&M competition!!

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  3. I reckon you have a clear-cut excuse for a visit to the Garden Centre, to buy some ceramic containers to keep theose Cyclamen pots in. Portmerion pottery would be nice...

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    1. A visit is due soon, Mark as I want some more bulbs but previous in visits I've not found what I was looking for. I shouldn't decide what I want before I see what is available - I always do this. Last week it was skirts!

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  4. You've definitely got a way re Cyclamen. They all look such happy and healthy plants - Did you ever think of selling them?

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    1. I haven't really enough plants to sell any - other than maybe the outdoor ones but I don't sell plants.

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  5. I think I must have been palmed off with some indoor cyclamen and planted them outdoors, which is why I kept losing them. That will teach me to buy them from a market stall! Lovely little plants.

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    1. Janet, I once bought some similar plants to these having been told they would survive outdoors - they didn't. See Martyn's blog here It did snow on them though maybe they would survive a mild winter but how many of those do we have?

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  6. Now, Cyclamen is a plant that always catches my eye. I never thought of growing them indoors either - maybe that would be a good plan for here as I was unuccesful in growing them outdoors the times I have tried. When I'm taking more in I'll come back to this post and read it thoroughly.

    Thank-you for you comment on my post this morning. You just beat me to getting here. I wanted to say thanks for all the comments you have left on my blog through my infrequent postings this last few months. I really have appreciated every one and am sorry I didn't get over here to visit you more often.

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    1. No need for the thanks Shirl (but appreciated nonetheless)- I enjoy visiting your blog. I totally understand why you have been quiet.

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  7. Very pretty. I once found my daughter eating snails eggs, she was about 18 months old at the time. There don't seem to have been any ill effects.

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  8. My mother used to grow cyclamen beautifully, indoors of course. I need to give them a try, but perhaps they are fussy? I am afraid I have quite a brown thumb when it comes to houseplants.

    I would have fed the snails to my goldfish that thinks he's a goat.

    Christine in Alaska, garden under snow

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    1. I haven't found them fussy Christine - they tend to suffer most if they are too warm which I don't think will worry you.

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  9. Cyclamen is so beautiful plant! You have put a hard work in saving this plant! Hope it does well all year around!

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  10. Interesting looking seed capsule. Hope you show me how the seeds look like when its open. You know I enjoy looking at how the seeds develop...hehehe..

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    1. I'll try my best to remember to take a photo of the seeds Diana - just for you.

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