USA tips for growing cyclamen

1.Cultivation area

2.Water quality

3.Insects

4.Crop protection plan

5.Greenhouse climate

6.Potting compost

7.Plant depth

8.Watering and Fertilization

1.Clean and disinfect floor and table in cultivation area

Before you start, ensure the floor in the cultivation area is clean and disinfected using the regular disinfectants.

2.Water quality

Check that your water disinfection equipment is in good working order, take water samples and check for the presence of pathogens.

3.Insects

Keep the numbers of insects in and around the greenhouse under control by clearing away weeds in the greenhouse. In addition, mowing in the vicinity helps reduce numbers of insects entering the greenhouse. If you are prone to Duponchelia infestations, scout for these insects regularly, place traps and apply preventative treatment in good time.

4.Crop protection plan: check your crop protection plan

In addition, if your nursery is prone to Duponchelia infestation, be sure to apply sufficient preventative measures from the start to the end of the cultivation. Check ipm (integrated pest management) options and discuss these with your crop protection adviser.

5.Greenhouse climate

We recommend applying whitening to the greenhouse before potting on. Depending on whether your greenhouse also has shade cloths, you can use a thinner (e.g. Reduheat) or thicker layer of whitening (e.g. Redusol) to prevent exposing the young seedlings to a bright, harsh climate. In the first weeks after potting on, maintain the average 24-hour temperature at 17-18°C (62-65°F) so that the young plants can develop well.

6.Potting compost

Use good airy potting compost that dries out quickly enough. Adjust the compost composition for the later crops to the water gift system so that during cultivation, the top part of the pot is dry which will reduce chance of a botrytis infection taking hold. Check the EC and pH values of the potting compost before use.

7.Plant depth

Make sure you do not plant the cyclamen too deep as this will give rise to more problems with the crop later, such as failure due to botrytis.

For the Mini and Midi varieties – place the tuber on the compost and
for the large-flowered varieties, place half of the tuber in the potting compost.

8.Watering and fertilization

For the first few weeks after potting on, keep the plants moist so they can acclimatize to the spacious situation. When the plants are established, reduce the moisture level to encourage deeper root growth.

Depending on the initial EC in the pot, we recommend regularly adding fertilizer with all elements including calcium to the water gift. The ideal EC in the pot is between 0.4 and 0.8 (measured with the 1:1.5 extraction method). Depending on the desired plant size, give more or less fertilizer within this range.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Growing Advice team, by e-mail:

Tonkoers@schoneveld.nl
jeffmcgrew@schoneveld.nl
Kathymckay@schoneveld.nl

or call our general telephone number +31 571 271 717.

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