Help, all you gardeners, botanists, and such like!
I just repotted some Cyclamens that are in full bloom and watered them from the top with African Violet food. Someone told me this would be fine. Is this okay? I mean, what’s in African Violet food that a Cyclamen would like too? Are Cyclamens and African Violets related in some botanical way?
[sigh] I’m so confused. I’ve read so many conflicting reports of what one should and should not do with Cyclamens, some of which are hardier than the the others. I have no clue what variety of Cyclamen I have. Anyway, some folks say that you should not water the plants from the top because that will make the roots/bulb rot, but then some folks say they did water the plants from the top, and the plants did just fine. They say don’t repot a plant that’s in full bloom, but I don’t see why not. The dang-blasted thing is growing and needs more room to grow, doesn’t it? Have I just killed my poor babies?
Oh, and while I’m thinking about it, I repotted my African Violet today because all last year it bloomed profusely–I’m frankly amazed at this because I only gave it some African Violet food once. I kept forgetting about feeding it, but I did keep it well-watered. I watered it from the top and poured water into the dish to let it soak up from the bottom too–but in the past month or so, the blooms have thinned down to one poor flower sitting in there all by its lonesome. That does mean it’s time to repot it, doesn’t it?
Oh, and I’ve been meaning to ask this question as well. What does it mean when an Aloe Vera plant starts flowering? I have a huge Aloe Vera plant that just keeps on growing despite the fact that I water it once every blue moon. Anyway, one January a stalk shot up in the middle of the plant and started producing pretty white flowers. The flowers bloomed for a day or so and then wilted and fell off pretty quickly. Some of the buds never opened at all. It happened again the next year, except this time it bloomed in the spring. Why does it do this? I never thought Aloe Vera plants produced flowers of any kind. Is this its signal that it wants to be repotted or something?
Keeping cyclamens is a knack some people have and others don’t. My mum has it, I don’t, even though I follow her advice. She will water from the top but avoids getting water directly onto the corm (?). That said, her star-performer, now over 20 years old and putting out 100+ flowers a season, is watered from the bottom, cos there isn’t any room around the side of the pot. She won’t repot it until it is dormant. I would guess if you’ve had yours awhile now, they’ll be hardy enough to survive. She does give the occaisional feed, with a general houseplant formula. I’ve never seen a specialist African violet feed, so I can’t comment. But given my ability to kill any houseplant, I probably shouldn’t
Cyclamen (Primulacae: primrose family) and African Violets (Gesneriacae: a family that includes plants like Streptocarpus and Gloxinia) are not closely related, however nutrition needs are basically very similar across the majority of the plant kingdom, the only difference between specific African Violet feed and a general-purpose plant food is apparently a slightly higher proportion of nitrates, but your Cyclamen is unlikely to complain about this during active growth (IIRC it’s best not to feed Cyclamen at all after the flowers fade, as the plant likes to go dormant for a period.
I always water African violets and Cyclamen from the bottom. My mother (a very skilled indoor gardener) says that they better regulate their water intake this way. I just know they’re happier now than when I was watering from the top.
Sometimes it just depends on their location. They like dappled sunlight, which can be difficult to achieve. My mother’s are in her picture window, where light is filtered by a large crabapple tree right outside.
Sir Doris, thank you for sharing, Sweetie. You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. I know Cyclamens are difficult to keep alive and happy. If you’re into gardening, but fear you don’t have a green thumb, try a plant that loves to grow no matter what you do to it: philodendrons. I’ve had mine for years. I water them once every blue moon. I’ve never repotted them in bigger pots, and they’ve grown quite a bit. They like low light conditions. They’ve endured cold and very hot weather. I’m really surprised they haven’t died considering how I’ve taken care of them. I will admit that I have managed to kill a few cactii, though. :o FWIW, I haven’t had these Cyclamens very long, and time will tell if I’m one of the folks who has a knack for keeping Cyclamens alive.
Mangetout, thank you, hon, for such an informative post–:eek: all that Latin!–and for the website. Very helpful.
Morgainelf, okay, you’ve convinced me to water mine from the bottom only. So they like dappled sunlight, you say? Hmmm. Well, I’ve got one plant on a table right next to a window facing South and the other’s on another table a bit farther away from that same South-facing window. I don’t have a picture window or anything else to produce dappled sunlight. I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed that they’ll like what I have to offer them. These plants are so finicky!
So, no one has any information on why Aloe Vera plants flower?
First, I don’t know about the aloe vera flowering, but it is a succulent, and likes to get quite dry between waterings - it is from arid areas and stores water in its leaves. Many indoor plants are thrown off-schedule and perform (bloom) irregularly because they are living in a largely artificial environment.
Your african violet needs periods of resting between blooms - don’t feed it now which will over-stimulate it, let it rest. If its environment is the same as when it was blooming, it will bloom again before too long.
Cyclamens need to be cool (as I’m sure you know) and cooler temperatures are also conducive to the growth of fungus which can attack the corm. The corm is the “bulb” from which the plant grows - it’s not technically a bulb, but close enough for this discussion. Cyclamens are particularly suseptible to funguses. Watering from the bottom allows the roots to take up moisture without over-saturating the corm and possibly promoting fungal growth. It is NEVER a good idea to repot any plant in active bloom. Repoting, however gently done, causes stress and a bit of shock to the plant, and since blooming takes a lot of energy, this can be too much for it. Much better to always repot any flowering plant immediately after flowering - that is when the plant is in “resting” mode, with it’s metabolism slowed down, so repoting doesn’t cause so much stress.
I used to work in a greenhouse, I have planted thousands of cyclamen. The important thing with them when replanting is to keep half the corm above the surface of the soil. Half in, half out. Otherwise they’ll rot. I have had to go through many, many, pots that were planted by other people and re-set them because they were planted too deep, so keep that in mind when potting up.
Many types of Aloe grow in very rocky ground, often in tight crevices; in nature, they would grow until they have exhausted the root space available, then flower prolifically and (probably) die, leaving behind numerous progeny. You can duplicate these conditions by allowing the plant to get pot-bound; this should stimulate flowering but when the flowers fade, you can keep it alive by potting it up in a larger container or splitting it up into several plants and starting the process again.
You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. I know Cyclamens are difficult to keep alive and happy. If you’re into gardening, but fear you don’t have a green thumb, try a plant that loves to grow no matter what you do to it: philodendrons. I’ve had mine for years. I water them once every blue moon. I’ve never repotted them in bigger pots, and they’ve grown quite a bit. They like low light conditions. They’ve endured cold and very hot weather. I’m really surprised they haven’t died considering how I’ve taken care of them. I will admit that I have managed to kill a few cactii, though. :o FWIW, I haven’t had these Cyclamens very long, and time will tell if I’m one of the folks who has a knack for keeping Cyclamens alive. 