Lobed, flame-shaped or spiral flowers in white, red, pink or violet, and mini cultivars that look like bouquets of violets: cyclamen is the pot plant that carries a room through the cold season. Keep it bright but out of direct sun, in cool air of 60 to 65°F (15 to 18°C), and it flowers for months.
A member of the primrose family, cyclamen is native to Central Europe and to the Mediterranean area. Modern varieties offer the choice of a great range of colors (white, red, pink, violet…) and shapes, with lobed flowers, flame-shaped flowers, spiral flowers… We also fell in love with the tiny cyclamen cultivars that look like bouquets of violets!
Thanks to generations of breeding, cyclamen now cope more and more with the stuffy heat of our homes. Well, it isn’t yet perfect! If you can keep an ambient temperature of 60 to 65°F (15 to 18°C), it will flower from November to March.
The florists’ cyclamen sold for indoor pots comes in several well-known series, from large-flowered types to the tiny ones that look like bouquets of violets. Two hardy species are also widely sold for growing outdoors.
| Variety | Flower size | Flowering season | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyclamen coum ‘Pewter Group’ | Small | Midwinter to early spring | Silvery foliage as well as flowers |
| ‘Victoria’ | Medium to large, frilled | Early winter to early spring | A bicoloured indoor pot |
| ‘Sierra’ series | Large | Late autumn to early spring | Uniform, long-lasting pots |
To guarantee that your winter cyclamen will bloom beautifully, place it in a luminous spot, but not in direct sunlight.
Since it appreciates cool air, you can let it stay out overnight in the garage. Feel free to use it to add color to your balcony.
As for watering, remember to practice regular watering with moderate amounts (2-3 times a week) to keep the clump of soil moist just so. Water along the side of the pot or in the saucer, but never directly on the bulb! To keep the water from stagnating, which would be very bad for the roots, cover your saucer with clay pebbles or empty it 30 minutes after the watering.
For the bulb to find nutrients in such a small amount of soil, remember to feed your plant with fertilizer, prefer organic solutions: natural fertilizer for sale in horticulture stores, or coffee grounds, cooled vegetable boiling water… Also, remember to remove wilted leaves and flowers.
With such great care, you’ll be keeping your cyclamen for years. After the April blooming, plunk the pot in a shady spot of the garden and forget about it. Repot it in September and it’ll start all over again for a new year!
M.-C. H.
