With autumn, and especially winter, we know that all those plants that have accompanied us in spring and summer are going to disappear. Some may resurface after a few months, the following spring, but others need a little help from us to do so. Therefore, today we want to show you the ways to save cyclamen bulbs, one of the plants that have so-called “soft bulbs” and that it is advisable to remove from the ground.
Do you want to know what are the best ways to store them? And what do you have to do afterwards to “wake them up” and be able to plant them? We will talk about all of this below.
What about the bulbs in autumn and winter
There are many bulb plants that, when spring and summer come, are in full growth. Branches or leaves never stop coming out, blooming flowers that last for weeks or months, etc.
However, when the month of September begins to arrive, especially when temperatures drop, they decline and irretrievably lose their leaves, their flowers and, suddenly, there is no trace of the plant.
The bulbs, which are inside the earth, are not dead. We are not talking about a plant that only lives a season, but it is a form of resistance since inside the earth it is still alive, only that it enters a kind of lethargy waiting for spring to begin to sprout.
Now, within these bulbs, we can find the “normal” and the “soft.” These are somewhat more delicate than the previous ones since they are affected by humidity, cold temperature and even frost, and to prevent them from rotting or not regrowing in spring, they must be given a special treatment. In addition, also at that time that you take them out you can divide them to have more plants of that species.
You want to know how?
How to store cyclamen bulbs
Let’s start learning how to store cyclamen bulbs. To do this, you have to wait for the plant to dry. This is important because, while it is not, the bulb is active. The best thing is that you wait a few weeks since you see that it is losing its leaves and that the plant is disappearing.
Do not be afraid to leave the bulb when temperatures begin to drop, nothing will happen to it since the change is somewhat progressive and it will still hold on the ground.
Only when you make sure that the plant has completely dried out and that it does not appear to sprout again, You have to dig a little in the earth and, very carefully, remove the bulb from the earth.
If you have more plants with which you are going to do that, it is important that you use a label or something similar to know which plant it is, so that later you do not make mistakes when planting them.
Now that you have the cyclamen bulbs out of the ground, do you save them? Well no. Once you take them out of the ground, it is best to Place on top of some sheets of newspaper and let them dry for a whole day, ideally on a sunny day. In this way they will lose the moisture they can keep and, thus, you will ensure that they will not rot while they are stored.
Don’t worry, nothing will happen to him.
Once you have it dry, it is time to take away the land that he might still have. It is important that, when storing it, you make it as clean as possible because even with the soil, it could have viruses, bacteria, etc. that affects you during the months that it will be stored. To avoid this, give it a not too strong brush to remove any remaining dirt.
This will also allow you to see if there are any parts that look rotten since this is the time when you could remove them.
It is also the time when you can separate the “suckers”, that is, those little plants that come out of the mother and that you can carefully divide them to have more bulbs.
The trick to storing cyclamen bulbs correctly
At this moment you have practically the entire process done. The only thing left is to save the cyclamen bulbs. And the trick is precisely in this. Instead of putting them all in one bag, it’s a lot better if you take newspaper and wrap each bulb individually.
You have to do this to have a greater probability that all of them are well preserved because, what if one rots and the others are next to it? They will all end up rotting in the end. Therefore, it is best if they are separated and that, with the newspaper, moisture is still absorbed.
It is also recommended that you do not use plastic bags to store them. Where do we place them then? Well, in a cardboard box, for example, they will be protected. You must put them in cool places, ideally where the heating does not affect you and the temperature does not drop below 0 degrees (the ideal would be 10 degrees).
From time to time take a look at them to see if they are okay and it will only be necessary to wait for spring to plant them.
How are the bulbs replanted?
When spring comes, you will have to remove the bulbs from the box where you had them and prepare a pot to plant them. It does not have much mystery, since you only have to place the bulb correctly and cover it lightly with soil. Water it and keep watering it from time to time, in addition to putting it in the sun (if not too tight) so that it stimulates awakening.
In general, if they are in good condition, they should start showing signs of “life” within weeks. But if you see that 1-2 months pass and nothing happens, perhaps the bulb has frozen, rotted or died. And is that some of these plants do not revive forever, but have a period of life, but then do not revive again. This is what happens to cyclamen, that its bulbs are only good for 4-5 years, but afterwards it is very difficult for them to continue living.
Have you ever kept cyclamen bulbs? What has been your experience with them? Do you have any trick that you usually do to improve that later they grow faster.
