When you’re looking for how to propagate cyclamen with a cut garden stick, know that there are more than 20 different species of the plant. All of them are indigenous to the Mediterranean area and need very mild temperatures in order to thrive. However, there is one temperature that they all prefer: night time. Knowing this is vital to successful propagating your bulbs and even other plants such as wheat and beans. Successful propagation methods that work for one species might be quite problematic for a different one.
Cymbidium multiflorum L., or cyclamen as it is commonly called, is a member of the bean family and grows wild across much of Mexico and Northern America. They are relatively large and grow up to four feet tall. The flowers are trumpet shaped and the petals curl upward. The blooms open up when the plant is pollinated by a butterfly. The long tubular stalks of the plant are used as stalks for the leaves.
The genus cyclamen is made up of more than a thousand varieties. Some are members of the bract family which contain the common name of alpine violet, while others are part of the cabbage family and grow in Europe, Asia, and South America. Most people have heard of the perennial varieties but are unfamiliar with the annuals or shrubs.
The most important consideration in knowing how to propagate cyclamen is that you must receive the plant from someone who is willing to share it. It would be nice if we had a huge garden of cyclamen blooming over our shoulders with no effort on our part to get the bulbs from one plant to another. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Because of how it grows, it is very difficult to obtain an abundance of the plant from just one plant.
In order to know how to propagate cyclamen it is necessary to understand how it grows. Cyclamen can grow very well even without the presence of any other flowers on the plant. It will flower and then go dormant until the coming season when it will flower again, producing hundreds of tiny blooms. The number of these flowers that bloom each season is dependent upon the number of leaves on the plant. The number of leaves depends on how big the plant is, as well as how many seeds it has.
You may be able to purchase some literature on how to propagate cyclamen plants, or you may want to try it yourself. Many gardeners find that the best way to learn how to propagate cyclamen seeds is to actually plant the seeds. Many gardeners mistakenly believe that planting them means waiting for them to bloom and then carefully pulling them off the plant as they grow. This is not the right procedure. When you plant your own cyclamen seeds, you will see that it is very easy to do.
The best method for this type of propagation is to plant one flower in a group of several. Start by planting a single white-colored tuber, such as a golden beet, in a group of red or pink sunflowers. Make sure that the bulbs are not planted too close together. Once the tuber starts to bloom, it will attract a number of white-colored buddhas to it. Each of these buddhas will produce tiny white seeds.
If your garden has an abundance of these beautiful plants, there is no need to despair. You can still achieve success in how to propagate European cyc material. Just remember that you must plant the bulbs close together, so that they can all flower at once. As the seasons change, you can move the pots around to ensure each plant gets the light it needs.
