How to Care for Cyclamen

Cyclamen persicum, also known as florist’s cyclamen, is a perennial flowering plant that is prized for its heart-shaped foliage and flowers. A cool-season plant, cyclamen begins growing in the fall and blooms through the spring. Boasting attractive blooms in shades of red, pink and white, container-grown cyclamens are often given as a gift during the Christmas and Valentine’s Day holiday seasons. Caring for your cyclamen is simple; getting it to rebloom the following season, however, requires a bit more effort.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

• Watering can
• Water-soluble houseplant fertilizer

1. Find a suitable location for the cyclamen in a temperature-controlled room of your home that is kept around 50 degrees Fahrenheit at night and below 70 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Place the cyclamen within 4 to 6 feet of a sunny window that can provide it with at least six hours of bright, indirect sunlight per day.

2. Water your cyclamen regularly to keep its growing medium moist, but well-drained. Water the plant until water begins to drain from the drainage holes in the bottom of the planting container. Apply the water to the soil at the edge of the planting container to reduce the risk of tuber rot. Allow the top 1/2 inch of growing medium to dry before watering the plant again.

3. Fertilize the cyclamen with a half-strength application of a water-soluble houseplant fertilizer every three weeks from the late fall to early spring. Follow the application instructions on the fertilizer package to avoid giving your plant too much fertilizer, which can result in more foliage, but fewer blooms.

4. Pull dead blossoms and leaves from your cyclamen, as needed, to maintain an attractive and healthy-looking plant. Removing dead flowers and foliage also encourages the cyclamen to produce additional blooms.

5. Provide painstaking care for your cyclamen during its dormant period to convince it to rebloom the following winter. Move the cyclamen to a cool, shady location when its foliage turns yellow and begins to drop from the plant. Continue to water the plant periodically to prevent the growing medium from drying out completely. Move the plant back to its usual position and resume regular care in mid-September, or when it begins producing new leaves.

Tips & Warnings

• Cyclamen can be grown successfully outdoors in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Plant Hardiness Zone 9 and Zone 10.

• Avoid positioning your cyclamen within 6 feet of heaters or air vents, which can cause the plant to drop its leaves prematurely.