Gardeners looking for a way to bring some winter to their landscapes can plant cyclamens.
This post will serve as your comprehensive guide to growing and caring for cyclamens. If you are looking for help with a specific topic, you can jump directly to the section you need in the advanced jump below. Let’s learn to grow cyclamens!
Jump to:
- What Are Cyclamens?
- Cyclamen Basics
- Where Do Cyclamens Grow?
- Why Grow Cyclamens?
- When Do Cyclamens Bloom?
- How Long Do Cyclamens Bloom?
- When to Plant Cyclamens
- Ideal Growing Conditions for Cyclamens
- How to Plant Cyclamens
- How to Propagate Cyclamens
- How to Care for Cyclamens
- Recommended Planting Combinations for Cyclamen
- Cyclamen Landscaping Ideas
- Recommended Cyclamen Varieties
- Frequently Asked Questions About Growing Cyclamens
- Where to Buy Cyclamens
What Are Cyclamens?
Cyclamens are plants that are part of the genus Cyclamen, comprising 23 species. These tuberous perennials are popular ornamental plants that gardeners appreciate for both their flowers and foliage.
The name “Cyclamen” comes from the ancient Greek word for “circle,” and is a reference to the tuber’s shape.
Most people refer to them as cyclamen plants, but occasionally you will hear someone refer to them as “swinebread” or “sowbread” plants.
You can grow cyclamens pretty much anywhere, as the genus contains plants that can flourish in many different climate zones. Their bloom periods can also range quite a bit.
Cyclamen Basics
| Zones: | 2-11 (depends on type) |
| Blooming season: | Usually winter, late fall, and early spring, occasionally late summer |
| Expected height: | Up to 16 inches |
| Soil: | A rich, well-draining soil |
| Sun: | Full shade or partial shade |
Where Do Cyclamens Grow?
The native range for cyclamen is concentrated around the Mediterranean. Thanks to the wide climate zone range for this genus, however, they have been cultivated around the world in many different locations.
Why Grow Cyclamens?
Here are some reasons to plant cyclamen in your garden:
• When other plants in your garden are dormant, that is when cyclamen is typically in full bloom. The appealing hues of the flowers and foliage can help chase away the monotonous grays of winter.
• Even though cyclamen are primarily winter-blooming plants, you can find some varieties that can also brighten up your garden in spring and fall.
• Cyclamen flowers come in a number of different hues. Their foliage also can be just as spectacular as their blooms.
• These versatile plants can grow happily indoors or outdoors.
• Cyclamen are deer-resistant and rabbit-resistant, thanks to their toxicity.
• You will discover that cyclamen are pretty easy to maintain. They need no staking and only require minimal pruning. You do need to mulch and fertilize them.
When Do Cyclamens Bloom?
What time of year your cyclamen blooms will depend on the variety of cyclamen you have, as well as your climate zone and whether the plant is living indoors or outdoors.
In general, cyclamen plants go dormant in summer and bloom in winter. Sometimes, they also bloom in late fall or early spring. There are even some cultivars that might bloom through part of summer.
How Long Do Cyclamens Bloom?
According to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, cyclamen plants have a bloom time of approximately three months.
When to Plant Cyclamens
The best season for planting cyclamen is in early fall.
Ideal Growing Conditions for Cyclamens
Whether you are growing indoor cyclamen or outdoor cyclamen, you need to know what conditions these perennials need to flourish. Let’s go over their sun, soil, and water requirements.
How Much Sun Do Cyclamens Need?
Direct sunlight is not something cyclamen plants can tolerate. So, choose a shadier location for these plants. Full shade and partial shade are both appropriate; in fact, they will be quite happy under the dappled shade of trees.
Indoors, you likewise want to put these plants where they are largely receiving indirect light.
What Type of Soil is Right for Cyclamens?
For cyclamen to flourish, they need to be planted in the right soil types. Rich, free-draining soil works best. While these plants do want the soil moist, if it gets too soggy, they will easily contract disease.
Whether you are planting a cyclamen houseplant or a cyclamen outdoors, your plant will prefer that the soil be a bit acidic.
Compost makes a good addition to cyclamen soil to facilitate drainage, add nutrition, and potentially increase acidity.
Some composts are alkaline, however. So, check the pH of the compost you are thinking of using before you add it.
Another good way to boost the acidity of the potting mix or soil for your cyclamen plants is to add sphagnum peat,
How Much Water Do Cyclamens Need?
We have gone over the ideal soil and light conditions for cyclamen, but what do they need in terms of water?
Regular watering is important during your cyclamen’s growth periods, while watering must be reduced during each dormancy period.
How frequently you need to water your cyclamen during its growing period depends on your climate, whether the cyclamen is indoors or outdoors, and what type of cyclamen you have.
Many cyclamen just need to be watered 1-2 times a week. But some require water more frequently.
A good rule of thumb is to check on the moisture of the soil. Once it feels dry on the top, you can water plants again.
How should you handle watering during the dormant period? University of Maryland Extension says that when you see the leaves dying after the bloom period is over, it is time to start watering the plant less and less. Trim back the plant as it becomes dormant. Then, skip watering your cyclamen for the next 6-8 weeks.
During that time, you should continue to keep the cyclamen somewhere shady. It is also important for it to remain cool.
Once the 6-8 week period has elapsed (typically in the middle of summer), you should recommence watering. But you should start it up gradually.
How do you know when you should get back to giving your cyclamen the normal amount of water it needs through its growing phase? The key is to wait for the plant to produce foliage. Once it has done so in full, you can return to watering whenever the soil feels dry.
How to Plant Cyclamens
When you plant cyclamen, you will start out with a tuber. Below are the directions for how to plant cyclamen in your garden beds or in containers.
Ground Planting
1. Pick a spot in your garden with partial or full shade and rich-well-drained soil. Consider mixing in some compost to improve the richness of poor or average soils. If possible, go with a type of compost that will make the soil more acidic rather than more alkaline.
2. Dig holes for the cyclamen that are at least six inches apart.
3. Backfill the soil. Make sure to cover the tuber completely but not deeply.
4. Water deeply.
Do not panic if you do not see foliage right away! Old House Gardens explains, “Leaves may appear the first fall, or you may not see them until the NEXT fall after they flower. (Have faith, and mark where you planted them.) A little protection from bitter cold and wind the first winter can be helpful. Snow is best, but a light sprinkling of straw or an evergreen bough will work, too.”
Container Planting
Cyclamen make lovely potted plants indoors or outdoors. Here is how to plant cyclamen in a container:
1. Choose containers for your potted cyclamen that are a minimum of 6” in diameter. Add drainage holes if they are absent.
2. Fill the container with a potting mix that features compost, peat moss, and grit.
3. Place the tuber in the potting mix and fill in the rest of the potting mix around it. Cover the tuber completely.
4. Water well after you are done planting.
5. Choose a spot for the container where the plant can receive indirect sunlight.
How to Propagate Cyclamens
The main ways to propagate cyclamen are from seeds and through division, but we do see some evidence that you can do so using cuttings as well. Let’s go over the steps for each of these cyclamen propagation techniques.
Starting Cyclamens from Seed
If you are patient, you can follow the steps below to propagate cyclamen from seed:
1. First, you will need to get some cyclamen seeds. The time to do this is when the seed capsules have ripened. If you try to harvest the seeds before this happens, they will fail. If you are worried about this step, you might want to just buy a packet of seeds for your first attempt.
2. Fill a bowl with warm water and place the seeds inside. Wait 12 hours before removing them from the bowl. The water should not be permitted to get cold.
3. Get trays with drainage holes, and fill them with a seed starting mix.
4. Use a spray bottle to moisten the seed starting mix. Wait for any excess water to drain out through the holes.
5. Sow the seeds on top of the soil.
6. Lightly cover the seeds with grit or compost. Do not leave them exposed to light.
7. Place a cover over top of the trays so that the moisture does not easily evaporate.
8. Put the trays in a spot that is around 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit. Regularly take off the lids to check the potting mix moisture, adding more water with the spray bottle as needed.
For most types of cyclamen, you will need to wait anywhere from 1-2 months for germination to be complete. But be aware that there are some that may require 12 months.
9. Once germination finally takes place, you should take off the lid so that the seedlings can grow freely. Continue to keep the potting mix moist.
10. After leaves grow on the seedlings and the roots have formed sufficiently, you may transplant them. Remember to harden them if needed.
Don’t know what hardening is? It is a process of gradually acclimating a plant to outdoor life after it has lived indoors. You take it outside for ever-longer periods of time until it is ready to live outside permanently.
Starting Cyclamens from Cuttings
For whatever reason, gardeners rarely seem to propagate cyclamen from their cuttings, but we have found some reports that it works. Here is how you can do it according to this blog:
1. Make a cut at an angle to remove a stem and leaf. Leave the leaf attached to the stem.
2. Dip the cutting in the rooting hormone.
3. Next, the blogger says to wait 1-2 weeks for the cutting to dry and form a callous (does it not dry out and die in that timeframe? This step confuses us).
4. Put a mixture of potting soil and compost into a container that includes drainage holes.
5. Insert the cutting into the potting mix.
6. Carefully water the potting mix, taking care not to get the leaf wet.
7. Wait for the cutting to take root, watering when needed.
8. Once the cutting has had the chance to root and grow a bit more, you can transfer it to a larger container or plant it in the ground outside. If you are going to be moving it outdoors, start by hardening it.
How to Divide Cyclamens
The easiest and most convenient method for propagating cyclamen, according to many gardeners, is dividing it.
The ideal time of year to divide a cyclamen is contingent on which type you have. Horticulture Magazine says, “As a general rule, hardy cyclamens are divided in autumn, around September or October. The more tender types grown indoors are best divided after they enter their period of dormancy after the foliage dies back in spring.”
Here are the steps:
1. If you find any dead leaves on the cyclamen you plan to divide, remove them.
2. If the plant is in the ground, dig in a circle around it and then underneath, pushing upward to remove it from the ground. If it is in a container, simply remove it from the pot.
3. If the cyclamen roots and tuber have lots of soil clinging to them, wipe it away.
4. Divide the tuber itself. You can do this using a knife. Usually, you should just cut it in half or into thirds.
How do you know how many divisions you can make? It depends on how many “eyes” the tuber has (these are similar to the ones you find on potatoes). You should not create any divisions that lack at least one “eye,” as it will not be able to grow.
5. Transplant the divisions into their new spots and backfill the soil, then water well.
How to Care for Cyclamens
Now that you know how to plant and propagate cyclamen, let’s discuss how you can keep them happy. In the next sections, you will learn about fertilizing, mulching, staking, and pruning these plants. We will also tell you what you need to know about diseases and pests.
How to Fertilize Cyclamens
You should feed your cyclamen during the growing season every other week or so. It is important that the fertilizer you choose does not contain a lot of nitrogen. If your cyclamen get too much nitrogen, they will produce excess foliage. This can increase the chances of the plants becoming diseased.
How to Mulch Cyclamens
You may wish to mulch cyclamen in winter and/or summer, depending on the conditions where they are being planted.
During the summer, mulch can help keep the soil cool, lock in moisture, increase nutrition, and dissuade weeds from moving in on your cyclamen.
If you are planting cold-hardy cyclamen outdoors in a climate where temperatures will be dropping to around the minimum the plants can handle, some mulch during winter can provide insulation for the roots, improving their odds of survival.
Regardless of the season when you are mulching your cyclamen plants, it is important that you do not lay it on too thick. If you do, your plants may develop problems with rot. If they are dormant, they also might not get enough sunlight when they are trying to start their next growing season as well.
How to Stake Cyclamens
Cyclamen are not especially tall plants and should not require any staking. If they are flopping, that points toward an issue with the health or conditions of the plant. Overwatering is a common culprit.
How to Prune Cyclamens
Pruning your cyclamen is easy and just requires a couple of yearly chores: deadheading and cutting back. Let’s go over when and how to do both of them.
How to Deadhead Cyclamens
Deadheading your cyclamen is a way to lengthen the bloom time for these plants each year. By removing the spent blooms, you can help the plant to produce new blossoms. Plus, you will maintain a tidier appearance.
As it turns out, there is a right way to deadhead cyclamen, and if you get it wrong, you can invite problems. Perrywood explains, “To correctly remove fading flowers and foliage, follow the stem all the way down to the soil. Tug the stem upwards firmly, but not so hard that a piece of tuber breaks off. Do not cut the stems as this acts as a pathway for plant diseases such as botrytis to reach the tuber.”
When to Cut Back Cyclamens
Like a lot of the other perennials you grow, cyclamens need to be cut back all the way when they are ready to go dormant. You will know when it is time because the foliage will die back.
Remember, this will happen at a different time than you are used to. With most of your other plants, you take care of this chore in the fall in preparation for winter. But cyclamens are generally dormant during the summer, so you will likely accomplish this task in late spring. The exact timeframe depends on your cyclamen variety.
Are Cyclamens Vulnerable to Diseases or Pests?
One of the most common diseases affecting cyclamens is botrytis. A couple of others to look out for are fusarium wilt and bacterial soft rot.
Most problems involving cyclamen disease come about because these plants are not getting enough airflow or their soil is not adequately draining. This is a common issue with plants in general, but it is especially pronounced for cyclamen.
Some pests that may harass your cyclamen plants include aphids, spider mites, mealybugs, and thrips. Of course, the dreaded cyclamen mite can also go after cyclamen plants. If you notice one of your cyclamen plants has these mites, you should isolate it from the rest. In some cases, unfortunately, you may be forced to remove the plant from your garden entirely. Do not underestimate the challenge these mites cause.
Additional problems may be caused by slugs and snails, which also like to eat cyclamen.
In the mammal department, however, we have some good news: deer and rabbits usually do not try to eat cyclamen. They would need to be especially hungry or especially foolish to try; cyclamen are toxic (see the FAQ for more details).
Recommended Planting Combinations for Cyclamen
Here are some plants to consider as companions for cyclamen:
• Hellebore: Since the flowering period for many cyclamens is winter and early spring, it makes sense to plant another perennial with them that also blooms during this time. Hellebore appreciates shade just as much as cyclamen and will bring even more color to your garden. See our Full Hellebore Growing Guide.
• Trillium: These woodland plants can bloom in early spring for several weeks. Depending on when your cyclamen plants bloom, trillium might do so concurrently or as your cyclamen are wrapping up their bloom period for the year. Take a look at our Full Trillium Growing Guide.
• Snowdrop: These perennials bloom during winter in shady spots and can look stunning mixed in with cyclamen. Check out our Full Snowdrop Growing Guide.
Cyclamen Landscaping Ideas
Cyclamen work best planted in a woodland garden. Under the shade of the trees, they will spread through efficient self-seeding, bringing color to wide areas that would otherwise be dark and drab.
Another idea for cyclamen planting is just to use them in your regular garden plots. Due to their low, diffuse growth habit, they are arguably not the most obvious choice for border plants, but they can work better in this capacity than one might think.
One more option is simply to grow cyclamen in containers. Keep in mind that a lot of bright light reflecting around your patio from concrete may be a bit overbearing for them. You may want to find some darker, shadier spots for your cyclamen pots.
Recommended Cyclamen Varieties
Now that you know all about growing these beautiful plants, let’s take a look at some types of cyclamen that can liven up your landscaping.
• Smartiz: The name of this cultivar is a portmanteau for “smart and easy.” As this phrase suggests, cyclamen in this series were developed to be easy to grow successfully. They also boast a long bloom period. You can find red flowers, purple flowers, pink flowers, and white flowers of different hues.
• Metis: If you want especially compact cyclamen that are easy to grow in containers indoors or outdoors, the Metis series may be right for you. Blooms come in colors like purple, magenta, white, rose, salmon, lilac, and red.
• Tianis: This is another series of compact cyclamen, especially bred to thrive on balconies and terraces. The same basic range of colors is available, as you will find for Smartiz and Metis.
• Midi: As a mid-sized series of cyclamen plants, Midi is great for just about any purpose, making it a versatile choice for your indoor or outdoor garden. Once again, you have your choice of a wide assortment of colors for the blooms.
• Latinia: If you are seeking a series of cyclamen that blooms early and produces large flowers, the Latinia series may be suitable for your needs. Flowers come in a wide range of reds, pinks, purples, and whites.
• Halios: This series of cyclamen plants is larger than those above and is available in the same range of colors.
• Album: There are actually multiple cultivars of different species of cyclamen that bear this name. As you would guess, they produce white blooms.
• Raspberry: This cultivar of Cyclamen confusum produces blooms that are bold pink. There are some variations in the appearance of the leaves from one specimen to the next. Some sport bi-colored dark green and silver foliage that is quite striking.
• Marbled Moon: This cultivar of cyclamen is grown mostly for its patterned foliage rather than for its blooms, which are on the small side.
• Ellen Corker: This intriguing cultivar of cyclamen plant produces distinctive bi-color blooms that are white and salmon in hue.
This is just a small sampling of the numerous cultivars of cyclamens you can plant. Whether you want a larger or smaller plant, and whether you are looking for spectacular blooms or eye-catching foliage, there are many options that will be a great fit for your garden.
Frequently Asked Questions About Growing Cyclamens
Below, you can find answers to some of the most common questions people ask about cyclamen plants.
Certain insects, as well as slugs and snails, sometimes eat cyclamen plants. Deer and rabbits usually do not.
Cyclamens are perennial plants. They bloom every year with proper care.
Do not mistake your cyclamen for an annual if it appears to “die” in the summer—and do not assume it is unhealthy, either. This is just the normal dormant period beginning. Keep caring for the plant, and it will produce fresh leaves and flowers during its next growing season. Far too many cyclamen have met tragic ends because their gardeners assumed they were dead when they were simply resting.
Yes, cyclamen are poisonous to cats and dogs. There are compounds called saponins present in cyclamen plants. If your cat or dog eats cyclamen, they can experience a severe reaction. Symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, seizures, and changes in heart rate and rhythm. It can even be lethal.
So, do not let your pets eat cyclamen. If you are keeping them as houseplants, try and place them where your pets cannot reach them.
That depends entirely on the type of cyclamen you plant. Some cyclamen varieties are cold-hardy, while others are not.
Gardening expert Neil Sperry says that cold-hardy cyclamen will probably be okay if temperatures drop down as low as 26 degrees Fahrenheit but that he does not recommend letting them get any colder than that.
You can grow cyclamen as either indoor or outdoor plants. If you want to grow cyclamen outdoors, be sure to choose a variety that is suited to your climate zone. When growing cyclamen indoors, you may be able to grow other cultivars that would not thrive outside in your region.
No, cyclamen usually blooms for about three months. But they will bloom again the next year.
Where to Buy Cyclamens
If you are ready to enjoy the beautiful blooms of cyclamen during winter or other seasons, it is time to shop for some tubers! You can head to your local garden center or shop the largest selection of cyclamen cultivars online.
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