Cyclamens bring joy to the holidays.
The holidays are a time of lights and decorations. Along with the traditional Yuletide plants, indulge in something new this season. The elegant cyclamen has much to offer.
The delicate petals swirl in free form patterns as if someone trimmed them with a scissors. Here's a photo.The abundant blooms come in a range of cheerful hues. Red, white, and pink seem to be the most common. For the adventurous gardener, there are purple flowered ones as well. The exquisitely decorated leaves are marbled with silver, white, cream, and other contrasting tones.
Cyclamens are readily available in garden centers, nurseries, and flower shops. When you purchase your plant, don’t be alarmed if you notice part of the bulb is above the soil surface. This is normal. As with the amaryllis, it is a standard procedure for planting cyclamen.
Choosing a Spot for your Indoor Cyclamen
Allow plenty of room for your cyclamen. These can be over a foot tall and almost as wide. This holiday plant likes lots of air circulation around the pot. Cyclamen prefers a bright, indirectly lit spot. Too much sun can cause the blooms and the foliage to fade.
To help your cyclamen last longer, keep it in a cool room if possible. Somewhere between 55 and 65 degrees Fahrenheit is considered ideal at all times.
Caring for a Holiday Cyclamen
A cyclamen should be kept evenly moist. Once the top of the potting soil dries out, it will need watering. The bulb will rot if you pour water on it. For that reason, water from below. If you prefer, one of the automatic plant watering systems for houseplants can be used.
Bottom watering is pretty simple. Set the pot in a shallow pan of water. The moisture will rise through the drainage holes in the bottom of the container. Once the surface of the soil is moist (about ten minutes), remove the pot from the water. Drain well to remove any excess moisture.
A cyclamen will last longer if it is fertilized about every seven to ten days. Use one of the all-purpose, soluble, houseplant fertilizers at half the strength listed on the label. This can be added when you’re watering.
Your holiday cyclamen will need grooming from time to time. Remove the spent blossoms by cutting off the old flower stalks. At the same time, snip any dead or discolored leaves.
These plants thrive in high humidity. This is easy to provide if you set the pots on trays filled with moist pebbles or gravel.
Sometimes called florist cyclamen, this tender, indoor plant differs from the ones grown as hardy outdoor bulbs. Typically, it is discarded once it quits flowering. Though a determined gardener can entice the plant to rebloom in subsequent years, most don’t bother since these potted plants are so cheap.
