Cyclamen (florist's)

About Cyclamen (florist's)

Florist's cyclamen is a winter-blooming tuber from the pine woods and rocky slopes of the eastern Mediterranean, bred into a mounded pot plant with silver-marbled heart-shaped leaves and swept-back flowers in white, pink, red, magenta and purple (NC State). It is sold in bloom from Christmas through Valentine's Day and wants what few houses have: cool nights near 50 F and bright indirect light. It is a perennial that goes dormant in summer, but Clemson says getting it to rebloom indoors is hard enough that most people treat it as a seasonal plant and buy a new one.

Winter hardy outdoors only in zones 9-11 (NC State); it is grown indoors everywhere and a dormant tuber can spend summer outdoors in a shady spot once nights stay above about 50 F, coming back in before fall frost.

When to plant

Timing is counted from your average last spring frost (and first fall frost). Sow & Tell works out the actual dates for your ZIP code.

Bought as a nursery plant in bud or bloom; seed takes 9-15 months to make a flowering plant and dividing the tuber usually rots it, so Clemson recommends buying new plants.

Growing it indoors

• Light: Bright indirect light keeps it compact and flowering; in low light the plant weakens, the blooms shrink and the leaves pale, and in mid-September a plant coming out of dormancy can take a sunnier spot (NC State, Clemson).
• Water: Keep the mix moist but never soggy, watering when it feels dry to the touch, and always water along the edge of the pot or from below so the crown and tuber stay dry, because a wet tuber rots (Clemson, NC State). Reduce watering when the leaves yellow and it goes dormant in late spring, but don't let the pot dry out completely over summer.
• Humidity: NC State asks for moderate humidity; keep it away from heat vents, which dry the pot out too fast (Clemson).
• Temperature: It wants 60-65 F by day and about 50 F at night, and buds fail to form above 70 F, so a cool bright porch or bedroom suits it better than a warm living room (Clemson, MU Extension).
• Feeding: Don't feed a plant in full bloom; feed monthly with a liquid houseplant fertilizer from mid-September, when new leaves appear after dormancy, until it blooms (Clemson).
• Repotting: Neither Clemson nor NC State covers repotting; a plant you keep over summer can stay in its pot through dormancy and be freshened with new mix when growth restarts in September, keeping the top of the tuber above the surface.

Soil

A rich, well-drained potting mix in a pot with a drainage hole, with the top of the tuber sitting just above the mix so water never pools on it (NC State, Clemson).

Pot in a rich, well-drained potting mix with the top of the tuber above the surface, in a container with a drainage hole (NC State, Clemson).

Feeding

• In bloom, winter: none. Don't feed a plant in full bloom; just keep it cool, bright and evenly watered from below (Clemson).
• Mid-September to bloom, once new leaves appear after summer dormancy: liquid houseplant fertilizer. Feed monthly at label strength while the new leaves grow in, until the buds open (Clemson).

Warmth is the usual failure, not hunger: buds won't form above 70 F, and water on the crown rots the tuber (Clemson).

Harvest

Blooms from early winter into spring for about 3 months (NC State); pull each spent flower stem off at the crown with a firm tug to keep new buds coming (Clemson).

Varieties (7)

NC State names 7 cultivars and forms; florist's cyclamen is mostly sold by color and flower form (single, double, fringed, frilled) rather than by name (Clemson).

Pests to watch for

Cyclamen mite, Aphids, Mealybugs, Twospotted spider mite, Thrips

Diseases and problems

Root and crown rot, Tuber rot, Impatiens necrotic spot

In the kitchen

Safety: The tuber is the toxic part: it holds triterpenoid saponins, and NC State says eating it raw can cause severe diarrhea and possibly death, though the bitter taste keeps most people from eating much; leaves and stems cause vomiting and diarrhea, and handling can irritate skin. Keep it away from toddlers and never use it as a remedy.

Pets: Toxic to dogs, cats and horses (ASPCA, Cyclamen spp.): terpenoid saponins cause drooling, vomiting and diarrhea, and a large meal of tubers can cause heart rhythm problems, seizures and death.