Allotments 4 All

Produce => Non Edible Plants => Topic started by: jesssands on May 01, 2008, 18:36:06

Title: can anyone help my mum, see pic
Post by: jesssands on May 01, 2008, 18:36:06
Mum has a cyclaman, see pic att plz


(http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/jesssands1/garden/DSC00395Small.jpg)


She wants to know, after the flowers have finished she is left with these seed pods or corms????????????

What are they please? and what should she do with them?

Thanks folks
Title: Re: can anyone help my mum, see pic
Post by: saddad on May 01, 2008, 19:10:44
They must be seed pods, being at the end of the flower stalk, but what to do next is beyond my experience...
Sorry...  :-\
Title: Re: can anyone help my mum, see pic
Post by: dandelion on May 01, 2008, 19:13:31
Yes, it's a seed pod. trhe seeds will be released from the pod when they're ripe. Cyclamen grows very easily from seed.
Title: Re: can anyone help my mum, see pic
Post by: Rhubarb Thrasher on May 01, 2008, 19:14:23
it's a seed pod. Cyclamens can only be propagated from seed. I think they have a tendency to burst open when you're not expecting it so you could put it in  little bag (still attached to plant!) and save the seed to grow. Fresh seed germinates much better than cyclamen from a seed packet
Title: Re: can anyone help my mum, see pic
Post by: Robert_Brenchley on May 01, 2008, 22:25:04
They're seed pods, but she needs to be patient. The seeds are dropped about a year after flowering, by which time the stalks have coiled right down until they're at ground level. They germinate easily.
Title: Re: can anyone help my mum, see pic
Post by: tonybloke on May 02, 2008, 17:35:10
the seeds are coated in a sweet substance, ants carry them into their nests where they germinate!!
Title: Re: can anyone help my mum, see pic
Post by: Robert_Brenchley on May 02, 2008, 17:46:55
My hederifolium germinate all round the parent plants. Other species aren't so obliging, and need a bit of help.
Title: Re: can anyone help my mum, see pic
Post by: PurpleHeather on May 03, 2008, 06:56:17
The trade name is 'buy and die'

They need to be kept away from central heating.

Other than that, the information you have been given already is perfectly correct.

Title: Re: can anyone help my mum, see pic
Post by: Robert_Brenchley on May 03, 2008, 09:02:40
The hardy ones certainly don't have a habit of dying on you! I've never tried the indoor version, but I believe they need to be kept somewhere unheated like a porch or conservatory.