Cyclamen brightens up the holidays
By Denise Levine, Master Gardener
Cyclamen
Now that we are deep into the holiday season it seems wreaths and poinsettias are everywhere. But other, more subtle holiday flowers are also on display.
As the holidays approach, florist cyclamen (C.persicum ) begin to appear at nurseries, groceries and home stores for table and windowsill decorations.
Cyclamen are a genus of plants that contains over 20 species. They have flowers reminiscent of butterflies in sparkling shades of red, pink, white and lavender that hang over mottled, heart shaped leaves.
Happy in most Mediterranean climes, cyclamen have been found in the wild and cultivated in parts of Europe, Asia and South Africa. Cyclamen are tuberous plants, and their habitats range from woodlands and scrub and rocky areas, to the alpine regions. Because of their wide range, they have adapted so that some species can take hard frost, others will tolerate no frost at all, and many species are in between. And also because of that wide adaptability, cyclamen are notable for the fact that there are some species which flower in every month of the year.
The cyclamen that you bring home for your table, called florist cyclamen (C. persicum), can normally bloom from mid-November until mid-February if they are happy in the conditions you provide. To be at their best and bloom the longest, cyclamen need cool temperatures, indirect light, moisture and humidity.
Their favorite indirect light is an east facing window, and they thrive in a cool temperature, around 60-65 degrees during the day and as cool as 50 degrees at night. Keeping a high humidity around the plants also helps keep cyclamen at their best. Try filling a tray or shallow dish with an inch of water, and layering pebbles or shard to elevate your cyclamen pots over the water.
Cyclamen prefer to be kept moist, but keep water away from the actual plant, since prolonged moisture against the base of the plant can cause the normally perky stems and leaves to get soft and rot.
One way to tell if your plants need water is to brush your hand across the leaves. If the normally stiff and crunchy leaves are beginning to feel soft, it is time to water.
Feed your plants twice a month with a complete liquid fertilizer during the growing season.
Cyclamen are a satisfying little plant to groom. But there is a technique so that your plant looks its best. Hold the plant at soil level, reach down to the base of the flower stem or leaf you are removing, and snap off the old limb. Be careful not to pull or tear these off since these tears can often weaken your plant.
Towards the middle of February, your cyclamen may begin to lose their leaves and begin to yellow as they prepare for dormancy.
You can set Cyclamen outdoors in part sun for the spring and summer, feed and water them regularly, then bring them back inside in September. They'll usually start forming new leaves and flower buds again soon.
Another option after flowers start fading, is to gradually withhold water. When the foliage is withered, remove the "bulb" (actually a tuber) from the soil, clean off all soil from it and store it in dry peat moss or vermiculite in a plastic bag at 50 degrees F.
In May or June replant in good potting soil, keeping the upper half of the tuber above the surface. Pot in a mixture of two parts peat moss to one part packaged potting soil and one part sharp sand or perlite, with ground limestone added at a rate of three to five ounces per bushel.
But for now, pick up a few in your favorite colors for your own home or gift for a friend and just enjoy the beautiful jewel colors of sparkling cyclamen, another sign the holidays are here.