Florist cyclamen keeps flowering for two to three months indoors when it sits in a cool, bright spot, about 50 to 65°F by day and 40 to 50°F at night, and is watered from below so the tuber and crown stay dry. Warm rooms are the number one reason cyclamen collapses. If leaves yellow and flowers flop within a few weeks of bringing one home, move it somewhere cooler before you change anything else.
The cyclamen sold in pots at garden centers and grocery stores is Cyclamen persicum, a tender plant from the eastern Mediterranean that grows in cool, wet months and rests through hot, dry summers. Indoors you are copying that rhythm: cool and evenly moist while it blooms, then a dry rest when the leaves fade.
Choosing a healthy plant
- Look for plenty of unopened buds tucked under the leaves, not just open flowers on top.
- Leaves should be firm and upright with no yellowing in the center of the plant.
- Check the crown. Gently part the leaves; the top of the tuber should be firm, with no gray fuzz or mushy stems.
- Skip plants sitting in water inside foil or a sleeve. Soggy roots at the store often mean crown rot at home.
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- Temperature: the cooler the better, as long as it stays above freezing. A bright windowsill in a cool bedroom, an entry hall, or an enclosed porch above 40°F suits cyclamen far better than a warm living room.
- Light: bright, indirect light, such as an east window or a few feet back from a south or west window. Hot midday sun through glass can scorch leaves.
- Away from heat: keep it off radiators, TVs, and the top of the refrigerator, and clear of heating vents. A plant that dries out next to a heat source will droop within a day.
- Humidity: grouping plants or setting the pot on a pebble tray helps in dry indoor heat. See humidity trays and grouping for winter houseplants.
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Watering from below
Cyclamen hates water sitting on its tuber. The safest method:
- Wait until the top of the mix feels dry and the pot feels lighter, usually every 4 to 7 days in a cool room.
- Set the pot in a bowl of room-temperature water for 15 to 20 minutes so the mix soaks it up from the bottom.
- Drain completely and return it to its saucer. Never leave it standing in water.
If you water from the top, aim at the edge of the pot and keep water off the crown and leaves. A soil moisture meter helps if you tend to overwater. Wilted leaves can mean either too dry or rotting roots, so check the mix before you add more water.
Feeding and deadheading
- Feed lightly with a liquid houseplant fertilizer at half strength every 2 to 4 weeks while the plant is blooming. Stop once flowering slows.
- Deadhead by hand. When a flower fades, follow its stem down to the tuber, give it a gentle twist, and pull it free. Do the same for yellow leaves. Cut stems left behind can rot.
- If you prefer snips for stubborn stems, use small, sharp ones, keep your fingers clear of the blades, and close them when you set them down.
Common problems
- Yellow leaves all at once: too warm, too dry, or the start of natural dormancy after a long bloom.
- Flowers drooping on long stems: the room is too warm or too dim.
- Gray mold on stems or the crown: botrytis from water sitting on the plant and still air. Remove affected parts, water from below, and improve airflow.
- Stunted, twisted new leaves: cyclamen mites. They are hard to treat at home, so isolate the plant from other houseplants or discard it.
- Fungus gnats: small flies around the pot mean the mix is staying too wet. Let it dry a little more between waterings and use yellow sticky traps.
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After blooming: dormancy and rebloom
Most people treat florist cyclamen as a long-lasting seasonal plant, and that is fine. If you want to keep it:
- When leaves begin yellowing on their own in late winter or spring, water less and stop feeding.
- Let the foliage die back and keep the pot nearly dry in a cool, shaded spot for about 2 to 3 months. Give it a small drink only if the tuber starts to shrivel.
- In late summer, when new leaves appear, repot into fresh, well-draining mix with the top third of the tuber above the soil line. Wear gloves if your skin is sensitive, since sap from the tuber can irritate.
- Resume watering from below and move it to a cool, bright window. Buds usually follow in fall.
Florist cyclamen is not the same plant as hardy cyclamen (Cyclamen hederifolium and C. coum), small woodland species grown outdoors in shade in roughly Zones 5 to 9. Florist types will not survive a freeze outside.
Pet notes
Cyclamen is listed as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses by the ASPCA. The tubers hold the highest concentration of irritating saponins. Chewing leaves or flowers usually causes drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea; eating a large amount of tuber can cause heart rhythm problems and seizures. Keep pots on high shelves away from pets, and keep dormant tubers out of reach in storage. If a pet chews one, call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. See what to do if a cat eats a plant and what to do if a dog eats a plant.
Bottom line
Keep cyclamen cool, bright, and out of drafts from heaters, water it from below when the top of the mix dries, and twist out spent flowers at the base. Do those three things and it will keep blooming well past the point most gift plants give up.
