Florist Cyclamen Care: How to Keep Your Cyclamen Blooming Year After Year

Botanical Name: Cyclamen persicum

Rising above heart-shaped, silver-and-green leaves are upright stems bearing beautiful backswept petals in shades of pink, purple, red, or white.

Winter-blooming cyclamen is usually bought in flower and treated as an annual, then tossed out when it deteriorates in spring. But cyclamen is a perennial you can enjoy for years.

With good care, this cool-season flowering houseplant lasts several months, then can be brought back to bloom next winter. When flowers die and foliage yellows, cut it back. Put the dormant plant in a cool, dark spot for summer, giving just enough water to prevent roots from drying completely. In fall, return to bright light and resume watering and fertilizing. Blooms should appear in 2–3 months.

Sudden wilting of leaves and flower stems is caused by dry soil—they'll usually recover after thorough watering. Stems and flowers that don't respond can be pinched off.

Wet soil and poor ventilation may cause botrytis—a gray, fuzzy fungus that can quickly kill the plant. Yellowing leaves with brown patches signal botrytis. Remove affected leaves. If badly affected, discard the plant. Deadheading spent flowers and removing yellow or shriveled leaves improves air circulation and helps prevent fungus.

Cyclamen Care Quick Reference

Origin: Hybrids with parents from Southern Europe and the Middle East

Height: 6–12 in (15–30 cm)

Light: Bright light, no direct sun

Water: Keep soil lightly moist. Best to water from below by placing pot in a saucer of tepid water for no more than 20 minutes.

Humidity: Raise humidity with a room humidifier or humidity tray.

Temperature: Cool, 55–65°F (13–18°C)

Soil: Any good potting mix

Fertilizer: Feed every 2 weeks with high-phosphorus fertilizer diluted by half only while budding and blooming.

Propagation: Seeds