Q-Several months ago, I bought a miniature cyclamen that was covered with flowers. After a few weeks it sort of fizzled. The small tuber at soil level seemed firm; so I turned the pot on its side outdoors under a shrub to rest. Now I notice new leaves. Does it need repotting; if so, what is the procedure? A-Cyclamen brought to bloom in a greenhouse that is airy, cool and sunny- bright often go to pieces when brought into a room that is warm and dry. They are also sensitive to overwatering, which leads to root and stem rot. Because the tuber in question is sending up new growth, it apparently still qualifies to be called a cyclamen.
Late summer is the time to repot cyclamen tubers that have been resting. If the soil is dry, moisten first, then crumble it from the roots.
Prepare fresh potting mix by combining two parts peat moss to one each of all-purpose potting soil and clean, sharp sand. Or use a prepared soilless planting medium such as Pro-Mix or Baccto Professional. Cyclamen do best when the roots have both air and moisture, needs easily met by introducing generous amounts of humus, such as peat moss or well-rotted oak leaf mold, and sand or perlite.
Reset the cyclamen tuber in the same pot as before and at the same level, which is to say with the top half above ground. Firm the soil and water well. Set to grow in bright diffused light where temperatures range between 60 and 80 degrees.
If there is one key to success with cyclamen it is water. During the season of active growth, usually late summer through the following spring, it is a mistake to leave the pot standing in a saucer of water or to let the soil become dry enough to wilt the leaves. Recent research findings have shown that best results occur in moderate temperatures-58 to 72 degrees-and by growing on the dry side.
Today`s recently developed miniature cyclamen are generally better suited as flowering house plants than the older, larger types. Some of the minis are sweetly perfumed and offer all the growing pleasures of more popular species such as African violet, begonia and geranium.
In my garden, aphids or plant lice often attack emerging cyclamen leaves. They are easily controlled, however, by washing away the insects under a stream of water or by dipping in a solution of insecticidal soap and water.
Q-I have an 11-year-old snake plant that has twice produced a spike of white flowers so fragrant they can be smelled upon entering the room. Is this unusual?
A-Snake plant, or sansevieria, belongs to the agave family and blooms occasionally when cultivated in pots indoors. Like most plants, flowering is encouraged by providing adequate light, moisture, warmth and nutrients. A sansevieria that is starved for light or water is not likely to bloom. However, one that is encouraged to grow actively for several months, then kept cooler and drier than usual for a season, is likely to flower soon after a new season of active growth is encouraged by keeping wetter and warmer.
Q-I have been growing a date palm in an east window for several years. It is now about 4 feet tall. Lately the fronds have taken on a yellowish or grayish appearance, and some of the tips have turned brown. What is wrong, and can this palm be saved?
A-Judging by the size, you probably have a miniature or pygmy date palm, Phoenix roebelenii. Its condition indicates the presence of tiny red spider-mites, which live on the leaf undersides and suck the vital juices, resulting in the yellow or gray discoloration. Brown tips suggest the palm is allowed to become too dry between waterings, possibly in combination with an excess of salts in the soil from the use of chemical fertilizer.
Can this palm be saved? Yes, in all likelihood. There is no more effective treatment against spider-mites on a palm than to patiently wash the leaf undersides in a solution of insecticidal soap and water, then rinse well with clean water. Repeat the treatment at weekly intervals until complete health has been restored.
Meanwhile, clip off any brown tips. If you find a crusting of fertilizer salts around the pot rim and perhaps around the bottom of the pot, there are two possible approaches. One is to remove and clean the pot, then to flush the growing medium by watering several times with clean water. The other is to crumble away most of the old growing medium and replace with a fresh mixture, such as equal parts soil, sand and peat moss.
Q-I have two large urns outdoors that are filled with asparagus ferns. They are too big to keep in the house through winter, but because I will need several small ones for cemetery planting next spring, would it be possible to grow them from the thick white bulbs or roots that fill the soil?
A-Yes, and here is the procedure: Before frost is expected in your area, cut off the asparagus fern tops to an inch or so from the ground. Remove the rootballs from the urns and cut apart into divisions small enough to fit in medium-size pots, say between 6 and 8 inches in diameter. Fill in with your favorite all-purpose potting soil and keep warm and moist in a sunny window. By spring they should be thriving and ready to set outdoors.
Q-Can you help me find a source for cycad seeds? I`ve checked everywhere. A-Seeds of Cycas revoluta are available September through February at the rate of $8.10 per hundred from Pacific Seeds, Box 15050, Honolulu, Hawaii 96830. Helpful information on growing can be found in ”The Living Cycads,”
by Charles Joseph Chamberlain, a small book published in 1965 by Hafner Publishing Co. of New York and London.
Q-Several seed pods have developed on my Christmas cactus. Can these be sprouted?
A-Yes, in fact step-by-step color photographs show how in a new handbook and catalogue (available for $2) from Greenlife Gardens, 101 County Line Rd., Griffin, Ga. 30223. When the seedpod is ripe or starts to shrivel, remove and snip at the narrow end. Squeeze the seed-containing pulp onto some clean sand held in one hand. Rub with your fingers to separate the seeds, then sow, sand and all, on the surface of a moistened mixture of three parts sphagnum peat to one of perlite.
Greenlife advises to ”keep shaded and do not allow drying of surface until germination is seen as tiny seedling blades which will appear within about a week. It may take six months for side shoots to develop and three years to reach first flowering.” –
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Elvin McDonald cannot answer all questions individually, but he will respond to questions of general interest in this column. Write to him c/o The Chicago Tribune, Room 400, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.
