How to Plant Cyclamen Corms

Cyclamen are often grown as indoor potted plants, as they cannot tolerate prolonged periods of frost. These flowering plants produce heart-shaped, variegated leaves that are as attractive as their white, pink or red flowers. The plants grow from a corm, which is a root structure similar to a bulb. The corm stores all the nutrients and energy the cyclamen needs to grow and flower each year. Proper sowing of the corm helps ensure healthy plant growth.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

• Pot
• Potting soil
• Gravel or sphagnum moss

1. Fill an 8- to 10-inch-diameter pot with potting soil to within 2 inches of the rim. Use a pot that has bottom drainage holes, otherwise the soil becomes overly soggy.

2. Plant the corm in the center of the pot with the pointed end facing up. Set the corm so its tip is just beneath the soil surface.

3. Cover the surface of the soil with a half-inch layer of gravel or sphagnum peat moss. The gravel or peat helps prevent the soil from washing off the corm when you water.

4. Water the cyclamen thoroughly after planting. Water from the top of the pot until the excess liquid drains from the bottom. Empty the collected water from the drip tray under the pot after watering.

Tips & Warnings

• Cyclamens bloom in winter. Plant corms while they are dormant in early and mid summer.

• These plants need bright, full sunlight throughout the day. Place pots in a sunny window.