The backlog of unsown seeds in my refrigerator and elsewhere in the house makes me no different from any other gardener, I suppose, but I don’t have the seeds of the plants I want now.

A personal law of mine, which I follow from time to time, says I may not purchase more seeds until I have planted the ones I have. Now is one of those times: I deeply want primula seeds, but I haven’t finished sowing my cyclamen yet.

Continuing with my unscientific experiment of propagating cyclamen from seed:

Cyclamen propagation: Presoaking method

Cyclamen have a hard seed coat. Softening the seed coat by presoaking the seeds is said to expedite germination.

1. Soak the seeds for 12 hours in warm water. Rinse the seeds, and sow into pots.
2. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of sand or vermiculite, then add a layer of grit or gravel (I’m using chicken grit).
3. Water well. 
4. Exclude light: I’m further covering these pots with black plastic, just in case the layer of grit isn’t enough.
5. Keep the pots cool: They should remain between 60-69° F (16-21° C).
6. Check back periodically. Germination may take 30-60 days.

Cyclamen graecum and C. rohlfsianum, after a 12-hour soak

Cyclamen graecum, potted.

Seeds covered in vermiculite.

Vermiculite topped with chicken grit.

Until I could locate some black plastic to cover the pots, I kept them under a table on my deck, under a plastic crate to keep squirrels out.