Dear UBC or anyone who could help me, I have bought a cylcamen and two gloxinia. Due to the inconsiderate sellers who just want to make a quick buck, i only found out about the cyclamen and their need for cold climates, hence it is dying, slowly but surely. Temperature here is hot... As for the gloxinia, lots of leaves, lots of buds but the buds - 2 plants - one kinda grow till a certain age and then stem always turns brown and die. The other, even while buds are about 1 cm or smaller, there is black juice or something black growing from the centre and usually bud turns brown and die as well. So far, the new buds seems healthy, really tried surfing the net all over to find out what is the cause of the black growing from the centre of the bud.
Make sure you water Gloxinia under leaves not over them. Had atrict instructions from my father re this when watering his hot houses. Maybe it is getting too much water on top. "GLOXINIA Gloxinia are relatives to African violets and prefer similar growing conditions. Day temperatures should be on the warm side with night temperatures at least 65 degrees F. for continual bloom. However, like the African violet, gloxinia will rest for a period of time before re-blooming. Soil should be loose and moist. Avoid getting the foliage wet. Place plants in a bright southern window during the winter; move the plants during the summer months to a bright east or west window to reduce the chance of burn. Fertilize monthly during the active growing season, though it is hard to determine just when that season is with gloxinia. If the plant isn't blooming, don't fertilize with a nitrogen fertilizer. " http://www.garden-services.com/gloxinia.html The Cyclamen has a dormant period as it comes to the end of flowering. May be that is what is happening. "Cyclamens aren’t fussy, but they do need some general maintenance. When the flower is finished, don't rip it off, push the stem and twist at the same time to remove without damaging the core. During summer cyclamens are dormant, so put the pot on its side in a shady spot in the garden. By January they will start to re-grow and that’s the time to repot them. Cyclamen are also susceptible to botrytis or grey mould, which occurs mostly in cool, humid conditions. Spray the centre of the plant with a fungicide or remove the dead leaves or flowers. Cyclamen hate being in hot stuffy rooms and particularly dislike central heating so take them outdoors at night. These plants thrive in cool temperatures and do well in a brightly lit spot, especially on a patio or verandah. Water cyclamens at ground level but don't water the leaves because they can get a fungus problem. In the garden cyclamens do well amongst other shrubs and will live for a long time. " http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1355731.htm Liz
my gloxinia is watered from under the leaves and have tried abosrbing by putting some water in a plate and let the plant drink from the bottom for 3 minutes. either way, i have tried to water it from the top under the leaves and usually far from the centre to avoid roots rotting. still it can't explain the buds that have browinsh to blackish juice oozing out and another had the bud have a gaping hole and blackish inside..like something ate it out of an alien show. the cyclamen... sadly, when i don't water, the leaves are still yellowing and when i do, they immediately droop .. hence i have pretty much given up hope in a plant that doesn't suit my house temperature
Cyclamen prefers cooler temperatures, around 5 to 15° while in growth, but when dormant and dry, can take hotter temperatures (in temperate regions, it is usually deciduous in the summer dry season) Gloxinia is OK with temperatures of 21 to 25°. Can you post photos of the disease?
will do michael. Only thing is that, i have cut off the buds and thrown them away this morning before i found this forum. If it happens again, i would definitely take photo and post it here. as for the cyclamen, it is almost 25 degrees celcius here on normal temperature.. it is after all just too near the equator here.. zone 12-16 just saw gerberras too but i was warned that it is also for colder climates.
Dear Michael, This is the picture of a hole forming in the gloxinia.. is this normal? it has not turned black like the previous one or turn hollow but i found it a bit weird that this hole is quite visible on the gloxinia bud. So far this gloxinia plant has like 10-16 buds all over but they are still small... my watering frequency is now every 2 days as the weather is warm. The office one is not budding very well and the other day the bud just fell off overnight :O i brought it back home as i think there is not enough natural light in the office,
