Cyclamen mites are the worst. If they aren't too badly infested you can spray several times over a period of weeks with a mitacide and hope for the best. The ones really infested should be destroyed.

Carla

I had this same problem at the beginning of the year. I tossed many plants. I have since learned that cultural problems can cause symptoms similar to mite damage. Before doing anything desparate, look with a loupe to make sure. I am new to AV's so perhaps others could explain the cultural issues that could cause this problem. I have heard that it could be temp too cold, water too cold, too close to lights etc. I sure hope someone with more experience could give you other probable causes than just mites.

Please, can someone help with growing conditions that may cause the crown leaves to be stunted and off color other than mites. I am dreading the thought that I may experinece this problem again this winter.
Thanks,
Sharon

Several things can cause tight centers. Too much light, too much fertilizer, too cool temperatures. Try moving plants to edge of shelves if grown under lights or reduce time if many are involved. If you are using 1/4 tsp fertilizer to gallon of water, reduce to 1/8 tsp. Use clear water a couple of times. For fertilizer burn(the leaf centers can be fuzzy looking) flush soil with large amounts of water to remove fertilizer salts. If you don't fertilize each time you water, this wouldn't be your problem.

A lot of times just correcting the ph may help. If your plants haven't been repotted for some time, the fresh potting mix would help with ph.

As for cool temps, next summmer may help!!! Seriously, if growing under lights, keep off in daytime and turn on at night, particularly if you turn down your heat at night.

It bothers me Winnie mentioned tiny centers and off color leaves. If some of the other leaf edges are turning under, this could indicate broad mites. You don't want to jump to the conclusion that you do have mites, but keep this in mind.

With cyclamen mites the leaf centers are hairy, fuzzy and flower buds may not open or can be deformed. A good miticide has to be used in order to control the infestation of both kinds of mites.

Others may have more suggestions.

Elaine

I was just going to add wht Elaine said.... we had problems with tight centers and were wondering wondering what it could be.... when we corrected pH, the problem went away. Other symptoms of ph issues are that leaves can have "halos" (lighter around the very edges) and also that leaves look not very green... sort of washed out. The reason for this is that bad ph actually locks up nutrients... so even though you fertilize, the plant cannot use (some) of the nutrients.

It is a REALLY good idea to have a loupe to look closely at your leaves. This would help you confirm whether you do have a mite problem

Finally, there is a new miticice on the market called forbid... it is supposed to attack all mites and all develomental stages of mites and also be long lasting. If you know you have mites, you could probably find this by doing a froogle search

Ardy