Wednesday, November 14

Please , can I have some more?

Back in September I posted about the indoor cyclamen that I grew from seed last year and that had been an unexpected success. I also mentioned that some of the plants had maturing seed capsules that I was leaving to 'see what happened' and if possible that I would sow any resulting seeds to try and raise more plants. It's not that I actually need more plants but you know how it is - we gardeners just can't resist a fully ripened seed whispering "Sow me!"

 After a 'summer' in the cold greenhouse, the cyclamen are back in the house on one of our window ledges and, although one of the plants for some reason has developed yellowing leaves, are looking well. You will notice that I still haven't found an attractive trough style planter for them.
When I was watering the plants a few days ago I noticed that one of the seed capsules had opened to reveal the seeds inside. The seeds in the capsule on the right are still enclosed.
The seeds in the capsule on the left were obviously ready for sowing. In 'the wild' I suppose at this stage the seeds  would be either carried off by ants or would fall onto the ground. Thankfully we don't have any ants in the house and so I decided to do their work for them and removed the capsule which I left to dry a little before I removed the seeds.
As you can see, there were quite a lot of seeds inside. Just for Diana who likes to see what seeds look like - here is a close-up.
I have sown the seeds in a small pot containing a mixture of multi-purpose compost and vermiculite. Then I covered the seeds with a layer of vermiculite and placed the pot on a windowsill inside the house. Now it's a case of sitting back and waiting to see what happens.

The seeds sown have come from a dark pink flower - shown below on the left - and the developing capsule is growing on a plant that has pink flowers with a white margin to the petals - as shown on the right.
If the seeds do germinate and if any produce plants that go on to flower, I wonder if they will be the same colour as the parent plant or will they have cross pollinated to produce something different? I think I'm in danger of getting ahead of myself here - don't you?


Copyright: Original post from Our Plot at Green Lane Allotments http://glallotments.blogspot.co.uk/ author by S Garrett

Posted by Sue Garrett at 4:54 pm

10 comments:

  1. ShirleyNovember 14, 2012

    Brilliant work Sue :-) This is a plant that I am drawn to when I see but never get round to buying or seed sowing.

    Funnily enough a month or so I came across outdoor corms (at a garden centre) the size of a small saucer. I'd love outdoor plants but they would always run the risk of me disturbing them when I move plants about (as I do). Maybe I should consider indoor sowing too :-D

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    Replies
    1. Sue GarrettNovember 15, 2012

      We have outdoor cyclamen with huge corms Shirl, They self seed everywhere and are extremely hardy. We did them up, chop them in half and they still go on. My latest post about them is here The flowers aren't as big but still lovely. The ones sold as hardy that look like the ones I've grown aren't unless winter is mild.

      Delete
  2. Mark WillisNovember 14, 2012

    Sue, what would you say is the typical life-span of a Cyclamen corm? Do they last for a very long time?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sue GarrettNovember 15, 2012

      I'm not sure about the indoor ones Mark as usually I've treated them more like annuals - we did have one very large one for several years. The trouble is that I can tend to forget about them. I think if you look after them they are long lived. We have had outdoor ones for years and years they just get bigger and bigger!

      Delete
  3. JoNovember 15, 2012

    It's always exciting waiting to see if the blooms will be what you think they'll be. They look lovely on your windowsill, proper cheery plants.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sue GarrettNovember 15, 2012

      They have to germinate first, Jo so I'm not yet getting ahead of myself.

      Delete
  4. Roger Brook - No Dig GardenerNovember 19, 2012

    I love to bed outside, greenhouse cyclamen. They won't last much longer now in late November but they have been wonderful value outside for three months. My real love though is hardy cyclamen neapolitanum Some of your readers may be interested in my post
    http://www.nodiggardener.co.uk/2012/10/cyclamen.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sue GarrettNovember 20, 2012

      We planted some outdoors in a pot outdoors a couple of years ago, Roger .They only lasted about a fortnight - I was so disappointed There's a photo here Maybe if lots of seeds germinate I may try again. There's wishful thinking.

      Will definitely visit your post

      Delete
  5. Janet/PlantalisciousNovember 22, 2012

    Nice job Sue, and of course you have to have some more! I think I'll look out for some seed myself, they would be perfect for brightening up our front porch.

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    Replies
    1. Sue GarrettNovember 22, 2012

      They are lovely flowers, janet now I am impatient to see whether the seeds germinate.

      Delete

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