Sow about 5mm deep, then keep cool (10C-15C) moist and in the dark. Most people think that soaking first improves germination, some people recommend including a little detergent in the water. They should come up in around a month but some might take longer. Seed straight out of the capsule germinates very quicly and reliably, but stored seed may have poor or slow germination. Cold stratification is definitely not needed although some germination databases say it is.

well shrubs...I wouldn't be adding a "little detergent" to the soak (which must be identified by product /with concentration rates/soaking times and rinses if required unless I see such protocols from reliable sources....

I just purchased and started 20 seeds. Of the 20, I have gotten 18 to germinate. I sowed the seed about 3-5 mm deep and placed the tray into a cold, dark part of my cellar (I have an old cold-canning room in my basement that has a door to block it off). I misted the seed with water once a week and had germination starting in about 3-4 weeks, after which I took the tray out and put it into a room with very indirect light. My seedlings are now about 6 weeks old and I am beginning to see the first leaves The seed germinates and forms a stem, a little bulb and a root (presumably though I didn't dig any out to check).

I was going to post a question myself to ask when I could transplant these outside...Anyone know?

~Chills

hello chills; 20 years or so ago I worked with a couple of different growers that grew hardy cyclemen... I am in agreement with t&m's website aftercare advice(see:C. coum).Try to find three inch pots,go with a slightly peatier media; find a cool summer environment; keep corms on the dryer side during dormancy; plant out the following spring... Aside of the usual fungus gnat,ect issues, watch out for black vine weevil(see RHS site), cyclamen mites... try to keep pots off the ground......
plant in a sloped garden,soil of good tilth, surround plantings with rocks,winter mulch after ground freezes to help prevent heaving...just a few remarks from what I can remember...
goodluck

I would guess anyone who has germinated the seed could be considered a reliable source?

I've grown several batches of cyclamen hederifolium and coum over the past 2 years. I do soak my seeds first (and have added a bit of dish detergent which seemed to slightly improve germination rates from about 70% to 80% or so -- hederifolium has a higher germination rate for me.) None of my seed is fresh as I order it from Chiltern in England. I sow the seed on damp coffee filters in a baggie, and check after 3 weeks or so. Germination is variable, between 3 and 8 weeks. I remove the ones that germinate, planting about 4 or 5 seeds in a 3" pot. I grow in a cool basement under 18 hour lights, using weak fertilizer every couple weeks when the corms have 2 or more leaves each. After about 6 months the corms are about 1/4" or more across and I then plant out. All mine have gone under a 100 year old beech tree -- sloped, dry ground. Most do fine and make it through the winter. It would be better to keep them growing in pots longer, but I'm too lazy to keep giving them the attention they need indoors and put them out as soon as weather/size permits. I plant them out anytime from spring to fall, depending on when I start the batch. I am not an avid seed grower, and find hardy cyclamen to be relatively easy to grow from seed.

I read an article in 'Garden News' last night by someone called Christine Walkden, who grows lots of hardy cyclament from seed. She also mentioned using a drop of detergent in the initial soak, and then rinsing with fresh water. She also said she grew on the seedlings until the tuber was the size of a pea, by which time they stood a much better chance of surviving when planted out.

re: detergent: when I look at my detergent label, there's an array of active/ inert chemicals which I'm sure varies per product.Also, a drop per how much volume of water (concentration rates) and will that influence the recommended soaking time? ...So that it is the composite chemical effects on a given seed e

...oh good grief...error in transmission...please excuse......
...(anyway)...the composite chemical effects on a given seed embryo;health of the emergent germinant;and any reduction in germination rates from chemical injury. So I personally wouldn't proceed without understanding what the objective is and I would require a referenced source for specific protocols for this given seed...
chills; your local library's computer might direct you to the location of Hortus Third for supplemental cultural notes...(pot size will help manage media moisture...add a min/max thermometer)..
goodluck

The soaking in water with detergent is to remove the oily coating on seeds which might inhibit germination because it is more difficult for water to penetrate (most seeds germinate when conditions are moist). I just use whatever dish detergent I have handy, but Tom Clothier does recommend Lemon Joy. Apparently the citrus combined with detergent is even better at removing the oily coat. Most sites just recommend using any dish detergent that is effective on grease. I use one drop in about 1/4 cup water. The final rinse with fresh water that ornata mentioned, sounds like a good idea if you are concerned about other additives in your detergent.

...so then lisa, we must write to the company that manufactures 'Lemon Joy' and request that their formulation is used for soaking cyclamen seeds. ...please do not reformulate your product....

One part lemon ... one part joy ... no artificial flavourings or preservatives please :)

I was just down checking on my cyclamen in the basement and some of the tubers are already 3/4" across, after 4 months. [In the cool basement I only have to water every couple weeks, and, even then I sometimes forget. The cyclamen like it on the dry side anyways.] This is my best batch yet -- must be the no-name detergent!! Just joking. I assume the detergent didn't do anything beyond germination. This time, I remembered to fertilize a few times which probably made the difference. I had better get them outside now before the hot weather starts.

...good job, lisa... you are hereby referred to as a hardy cyclamen specialist...

I was just checking out this thread again, since wmc1 has generously passed on some of his hardy cyclamen seeds to me. (Thank you so much Bill. You didn't introduce yourself to me yesterday at my plant sale, but it suddenly occurred to me this morning that it was you who gave me the seed!)
Lisa03-at what point after germination did you begin to fertilize? What did you use and at what rate/ratio? Optimistically assuming I get them to germinate..... :)

Wyndyacre -- I started to fertilize when the leaves were about 1/3" across and just used a regular fertilizer for flowering plants (about equal NPK) at about 1/4 the recommended concentration about once a week. I applied this in liquid form from above (since that was the setup I had). I noticed the leaf and corm size increased noticeably quicker within a few weeks compared to earlier batches which I hadn't fertilized at all. Once I put them outside, I stopped fertilizing (just because I hardly fertilize anything, other than spreading compost or manure). Just yesterday I was checking on these outdoor cyclamen and they have grown a lot and are still green and growing, perhaps because they are in shade and I have been watering. I'm not sure if they will go dormant soon.

Hopefully, this thread isn't too old to revive.

I winter sowed C. hederifolium back in January, and started getting germination in late summer. Every time I went to the jug, a few more had sprouted, and I now have a dozen or so, ranging from brand new, to those with leaves an inch or so across.

Winter is coming, and I expect I should do something with these little guys, and I'm hoping for experienced advice.

Pot them up and bring them indoors for the winter?

Pot them up and bury the pots outdoors?

Pot them up and keep them in the boat, where they won't get below freezing?

Pot each seedling up individually, or leave them as an 8" diameter clump?

Thanks in advance.

Not but a beginner myself with these, but the experts over at the other site's cyclamen forum say to pot them singularly and keep over, good light and very cold but above freezing. I have just potted up a few dozen and plan to keep them under lights in an unheated room till spring. Try to keep the temperature under 60F.

George

Thanks, George. It sounds like the boat is the best bet. Above freezing, and pretty good indirect light, along with lots of humidity.

The only attempts at cyclamen seed-starting I've done so far are to make a concerted effort to leave the cyclamen corms I've planted over the years alone. I'm hoping that ants and nature do the job. The C. coum I bought this year had wonderful seed pods, so I hope that they disperse and germinate.

George, what is the other site you mentioned that has a cyclamen forum. I would like to check it out. Thanks.

I believe it's the Garden Buddies Cyclamen Forum.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Buddies

Absolutely correct Donn. Happy to see you over there now as a new regular.

George

C. hederifolium is quite hardy, I believe (zone 4, if remember correctly), so it shouldn't need any babying in terms of temperature. I have never taken them inside for any reason (except for the germinating, which was done inside), and they have even sent out leaves in the middle of January, in the cold. They may need the cold while growing anyway, as many perennials do. They do have a rather weird growing pattern, so don't panic if the leaves suddenly disappear at any time, or reappear at what seems to be the wrong time. Mine has given me quite a few near-heart-attacks already. They are supposed to flower in the Fall/Winter, but mine flowered (third year!!!) in the middle of summer. Go figure... :) Good luck...

thanks for advice on seneca hills seeds I just ordered some, very nice pricing and varieties.