Cyclamen
Flowers come in shades of pink, purple, red, and white. The heart-shaped leaves are green, often with silver marbling. It’s commonly grown as a houseplant and is especially popular during the winter holiday season.
Growth 6-9” tall and wide.
Light
Give cyclamen bright, indirect light in the winter when the plant is actively growing. In the summer, when the plant is dormant, it’s best to keep cyclamen in a cool, dark spot with good air circulation.
Soil
Cyclamen prefers to grow in organically rich, well-draining soil with a slightly acidic soil pH. For container plants, you can use regular potting mix but then mix some sphagnum peat into the soil to raise the acidity.
Water
When leaves are present, the plant is actively growing. During this period, water whenever the soil feels dry about an inch below its surface. Avoid getting water on the leaves or crown of the plant (part where the stem meets the roots), which can cause it to rot.While the plant is dormant (losing most or all of its leaves), water infrequently only to prevent the soil from entirely drying out.
A common way to water cyclamen is to set the pot in a tray of water and allow the roots to take up the moisture.
Fertilizer
Feed your cyclamen plant with a diluted liquid low-nitrogen fertilizer every couple of weeks while in full leaf. You don’t need to fertilize cyclamen while it’s dormant.
Pruning
Proper pruning of cyclamen involves simply removing yellowing, dead leaves as they appear. Fading flowers and seeds heads can also be plucked off, which may extend the blooming period.
Potting and Repotting Cyclamen
When first potting your cyclamen, select a pot that leaves around an inch of space around the tuber. Place the tuber in the potting mix so that it’s poking slightly out of the soil.
Cyclamen should be repotted every two years. You can repot while the plant is dormant in the summer with fresh potting mix and a slightly larger container. Follow these steps to repot:
Fill the new container partway with potting soil.
Then, lift the tuber out of the original pot, and brush off the old soil but don’t rinse it.
Place the tuber in the new pot, so its top is about 2 inches from the rim. Cover it with potting soil.
Place the pot in a shady, dry spot for the rest of the summer.
Start watering it around September, and you should start to see new growth emerging.
How to Get Cyclamen to Bloom and Care for Cyclamen After Flowering
Though many people tend to treat indoor cyclamen as annuals and compost the plant after it blooms, you can enjoy the same plant as it reblooms year after year. To encourage reblooming during its growth period, snip dead flower stalks off at the base, as well as any yellowing leaves. Then, as blooming slows, gradually allow the plant to dry out as it is going into its dormant stage, (which typically lasts 2-3 months), and too much water will cause the tuber to rot. A little water is recommended, but you don’t want the soil to remain wet.
The special care required by cyclamen occurs in the summer, not the winter. Potted florist cyclamen plants actively grow during the winter, so this is the time when they should be moved into a spot with plenty of bright indirect light. Correct watering is critical during this time, as the roots are highly sensitive to moisture and can easily develop rot. Wait for the leaves to begin to droop and the potting mix is dry to the touch before watering again.
As winter gives way to spring and summer, potted cyclamen naturally enter a semi-dormant stage, and at this time they should be allowed to go dry and moved into a cool, shady location. Avoid the temptation to water during this time, as the roots will likely develop rot. At summer gives way to fall, they can be moved into a spot with bright indirect light and nursed with gentle watering until new green growth begins to develop.
Toxic to people and pets.
