Growing Calceolaria (indoor) from Seeds

Cultural Information

Calceolaria Cinderella Indoor

Plant type: Glasshouse biennial

Uses: Pot plant

Sowing: 15 – 20 0C. Do not cover with vermiculite

Germination 2 – 3 weeks.

Light is essential for germination Approximate crop timing (mid season)

Sowing to transplanting 4 – 5 weeks (transplant both large and small seedlings to maintain

a good colour balance) sow August – October for flowering

December onwards. Sowing to flowering 16 – 18 weeks

Growing on:

Temperature 15 0C day and 10 0C night. Plants can be held back for a specific market

by holding at 5 – 7 0C as long as there is good ventilation.

pH 5.5 – 6.0

Feeding Feed with a 1:0:1 feed once established after potting. Too high nutrient levels cause chlorosis and scorch. An iron drench can mask the symptoms but providing good growing conditions is better.

Growth regulation Chemical growth regulation is not always necessary but plants do respond to Chlormequat (Cycocel) .

Pot size 10 – 12 cm

Advice
Plants need to be kept just moist. Poor drainage or over watering will result in leaf chlorosis. Once a good sized plant has been produced, flowering is promoted by long day conditions, supplementary lighting may be needed.

Common diseases Damping off at the seedling and pricking out stage and Botrytis.

Common pests Aphids, Thrips and Whitefly.

Any chemicals referred to should be used only in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

The Technical and cultural details are written for gardeners and growers, they are not cut and dried and are for information purposes only. It is not intended as a blue print for growing. A guide for you to use and adjust the data to suit your growing conditions. All information is based on UK conditions and should be used for guidance only. No guarantee is given for the resultant crop, or liability accepted for using the information used on this website in any article web page or cd rom.