Cyclamen make great houseplants! Their vibrant flowers in reds, pinks, whites, and purples, and their interesting leaves, make the cyclamen a popular plant to brighten up any space during the cold and colorless winter months! If you want to take proper care of your cyclamen to keep it blooming until February-March, and lasting year after year, here are a few tips!
Light
Cyclamen like bright, indirect light. Make sure your cyclamen is not sitting in direct sunlight, or it could burn the cyclamen.
Watering
It is extremely important to water your cyclamen from the bottom. DO NOT pour water over the top of your cyclamen or you will cause the leaves to rot. Place a saucer or dish under your cyclamen and fill it with water when needed, or pull the leaves back to water at the base of the plant. If your cyclamen is in a tin pot cover, or sitting in a saucer or dish, make sure your cyclamen is not standing in water. Allow your cyclamen to slightly dry out between waterings. If your cyclamen is wilted, DO NOT throw it away. Give it a few good drinks of water and it should come around.
Environment
The ideal temperature for your cyclamen is between 58-68 degrees. Make sure not to set your cyclamen against a window, as it could get too cold and freeze. Cyclamen like humid environments, so to keep your cyclamen happy, you could place a bowl with pebbles and water underneath it to maintain a humid environment.
Faded Flowers
Once a flower has died, you want to trim it back to promote new blooms and keep your cyclamen healthy. Instead of pinching the flower off near the top of the stem, you want to use scissors and cut the dead flower off near the base of the plant.
Cyclamen Care After Blooming
If you want to preserve your cyclamen from year to year after it is finished blooming, there are a few special things that need to be done. After a cyclamen blooms, it will go into a dormant state. When it goes into this dormant state, the leaves will turn yellow and fall off. Allow the leaves to die and stop watering the cyclamen. Place the plant in a cool, dark place and remove any dead foliage. Let the cyclamen sit there for 2 months before bringing it out of its dormant state and out of storage. There may already be some leaf growth, and that is okay. At this point, begin watering it again by completely soaking the soil (You may want to leave it sit in a bowl for an hour or so, or water it several times.Just make sure all excess water drains off.). Once the leaves start to grow back, just resume normal cyclamen care! You may need to re-pot your cyclamen tuber after a while, as it may outgrow the container.
Cyclamen make great Christmas flowers, and with their long bloom period, they last right through the New Year and make a great Valentine’s flower as well! Add a little color indoors this holiday season and be amazed at long your cyclamen will remain beautiful and blooming!
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