Bulb · Primulaceae
Florist's Cyclamen
Cyclamen persicum
Keep it cool, bright, and watered from below, and your cyclamen will keep flowering all winter long.
Bright indirect
Every 5–10 days
50–64°F · 10–18°C
420–540 days
Overview
Just when most plants have called it a year, cyclamen steps in with color, lifting its swept-back flowers from late fall well into spring. It comes from the primrose family and grows from a flat tuber that rests right at the soil surface, pushing up heart-shaped leaves marbled in silver and green. Most of us first meet it as a florist's cyclamen, the tender hybrid sold in pots to brighten a winter windowsill.
What it wants goes against the usual houseplant grain, and that's worth knowing up front so you don't second-guess yourself. Cyclamen likes things cool and bright rather than warm and snug, and a heated room makes it sulk the way other plants sulk in a cold draft. Water it from below to keep the crown dry, set it in a chilly spot by a window, and weeks of bloom are your reward.
Come late spring the leaves yellow and fade, and many a new grower tosses the plant out, sure it has died. It hasn't, so don't worry. The tuber is only settling into dormancy for the summer, resting quietly until cooler days coax it back into growth, and with a little patience you'll see it return.
Care
The short version: keep it cool and bright, water from below whenever the surface dries so the crown stays dry, feed lightly through the growing season, and let the tuber rest dry through its summer dormancy, and it will reward you for it.
Light
Offer cyclamen bright, indirect light, the sort it would find near a window but out of the noon glare. A touch of partial sun or shade is fine, yet strong direct sun will scorch the leaves and deep shade quietly slows the flowering, so the in-between spot is the happy one.
Water
Water only once the surface feels dry, roughly every 5 to 10 days while it's growing, and always from below so the crown and tuber stay dry. Water sitting on the crown is the main thing that rots cyclamen, so this small habit matters. When the leaves yellow for summer, pull right back and let the tuber rest.
Soil
Give it a rich, light, well-drained loam that lets water slip through quickly instead of pooling around the tuber. Any pH from 5.5 to 7.0 suits it nicely, so slightly acidic to neutral soil is all you need, and there's no fuss beyond that.
Temperature
This is the part most people trip over, and getting it right makes everything easier. Cyclamen wants it cool, between 50°F and 64°F (10°C to 18°C), since a warm living room pushes it into early decline. A bright, chilly windowsill is exactly the home it's hoping for.
Humidity
Aim for 40% to 60% humidity, the comfortable middle of an ordinary home, so this is usually no trouble. Skip the misting, which only wets the crown and invites rot. If your air runs very dry, simply set the pot on a tray of damp pebbles instead.
Feeding
Feed once a month from fall through spring while the plant is actively growing, using a dilute balanced or low-nitrogen houseplant food. Once the leaves begin to yellow and the tuber heads for its summer rest, stop feeding and let it be.
Pruning
There's really no pruning to learn here, which is a relief. Just twist off spent flowers and yellowing leaves at the base, pulling them gently rather than cutting, since that keeps stubs from rotting and tidies the plant as you go.
Repotting
Repot every 1 to 2 years after the summer dormancy, right as new growth begins to stir. Roots crowding the pot, a tuber filling the surface, or smaller leaves and fewer flowers are all gentle signs that it's ready for a slightly bigger home.
Size & spacing
Cyclamen stays small and neat, topping out at just 6 to 9 inches (15 to 23 cm) tall and about the same across. That tidy, mounded shape is part of why it slips so easily onto a windowsill or a tabletop, even in a small space.
When to plant
Cyclamen keeps a winter calendar, which is the opposite of most plants and nothing to be thrown by. Seed sown in late summer flowers the following winter, and indoors those blooms carry from November into April before the tuber eases into its summer rest.
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
Typical months for a temperate climate: start earlier in warm zones, later where spring frosts linger.
- Sow: late summer
- Plant: after frost in zones 9-11 only
- Harvest: winter to spring (November to April)
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones: 9–11
Temperature: down to -7°C
Troubleshooting
Most cyclamen worries come down to warmth, water sitting on the crown, or a hidden mite, and each one is manageable once you spot it. The real skill is telling a rotting tuber from a plant that is simply going dormant, so you know when to step in and when to let nature take its course. Match what you see below and act early, and you'll be fine.
New leaves coming in pinched and buds turning twisted
When the youngest leaves and buds emerge cupped, curled, and oddly stunted, the likely culprits are cyclamen mites or the broad mites that keep them company, both so tiny they hide from the eye while feeding inside the new growth. Don't panic. Move the plant away from your others as soon as you notice it, and if one is truly overrun, letting it go is the kinder choice for everything else on the sill.
Fix:
- Discard heavily infested plants to prevent spread
- Isolate affected plants immediately
- Apply a miticide labeled for cyclamen mites if treating
A soft, sour-smelling tuber with a crown going limp
If water lingers on the crown, tuber and crown rot can take hold, and a base that has turned soft and smells sour is sadly hard to save. Too much water poured over the top is almost always behind it. The good news is the fix is gentle: switch to watering from below, ease away any tuber that has gone to mush, and give what remains crisper drainage and a little more moving air.
Fix:
- Reduce watering and water from below
- Remove and discard severely rotted tubers
- Improve drainage and air circulation
Leaves going yellow and gently letting go
Take heart if the leaves yellow in late spring or summer, because this is almost always natural dormancy, the tuber settling in for its season of rest, and there is nothing here for you to fix. Yellowing in the heart of winter, while the plant is meant to be growing, points instead to a spot that is too warm or too wet. Shift it to a cooler place near 65°F (18°C) and water with a lighter hand.
Fix:
- During dormancy, reduce watering and rest the tuber in a cool spot
- During active growth, move to a cooler location and correct watering
Toxicity
Cyclamen is toxic, and that goes beyond just pets, so it pays to handle it thoughtfully. The whole plant holds terpenoid saponins, with the buried tuber carrying by far the most, and eating it can bring on vomiting and, in larger amounts, heart-rhythm trouble and seizures. Keep it out of reach of cats, dogs, horses, and small children, and wash your hands after touching the root.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Severe
Even a small taste can leave a cat drooling, vomiting, and dealing with diarrhea. If it gets into the tuber the trouble grows serious, with the chance of an uneven heartbeat and seizures, and a large mouthful can be deadly, so it really is safest kept well away.
Dogs Severe
A dog that samples cyclamen tends to drool heavily, vomit, and feel an upset stomach. Since the tuber carries the most toxin, a dog digging into the root can face heart-rhythm trouble, seizures, and at worst death, which is reason enough to keep it out of reach.
Horses Severe
In horses the saponins bring on drooling, diarrhea, and colic, and because a horse cannot vomit, there is no easy way to clear what it has eaten. A large helping of tuber can unsettle the heartbeat and lead to seizures, so keep this plant far from any stable.
Rabbits Toxic
Those same saponins make every part of the plant unsafe for a rabbit, and the tuber is the worst of all. A potted cyclamen belongs somewhere a rabbit simply cannot get to, and the leaves should never be within nibbling range.
Livestock Toxic
Cattle, sheep, and goats that browse on cyclamen swallow the same gut-churning toxin, and the buried tuber holds the steepest dose of the lot. The kindest thing is to keep these plants well clear of anything that grazes.
Birds Toxic
Birds get no free pass from the saponins either, so a pet parrot or finch should have no chance to reach the foliage or the tuber. Set the plant somewhere a curious beak can never explore.
People Caution
Cyclamen is not a plant to eat, and swallowing any of it can bring on vomiting and a queasy stomach, with the tuber the riskiest part by far. Touching the tuber may irritate the skin too, so wash your hands afterward and keep small children clear of it.
The tuber/root is the most toxic part. Keep plants out of reach of pets and children, and wash hands after handling as the tuber can cause contact dermatitis.
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Cyclamen runs the range from a delicate pot plant to a hardy woodland groundcover, so there's more to the name than you might expect. These two are the ones you're most likely to come across.
Cyclamen persicum (florist cyclamen hybrids)
These are the tender hybrids you see in shops each winter, lifting big swept-back blooms in violet, lavender, pink, rose, red, and white, and many show a deeper eye right at the heart.
Cyclamen hederifolium
Its leaves echo the shape of ivy, and this tougher species takes real cold in stride, settling happily into the garden as groundcover instead of living in a pot.
How to propagate
Cyclamen takes its time to multiply and asks for a little patience whichever path you choose, but it's well within reach. Seed is the route nearly everyone takes, with division a long shot best saved for when you feel adventurous.
SeedModerate
Late summer · About 12-18 months to first bloom
Seed is the steady, forgiving way to raise more cyclamen, and it really does work. Sow fresh seed in late summer and the young plants bloom the next winter, though they ask for 12 to 18 months from sowing to that first flower, so think of patience as part of the fun.
DivisionDemanding
During dormancy · Variable
Splitting the tuber during summer dormancy is worth a try if you're curious, but go in with low expectations. The cut pieces often rot before they ever root, and how long any survivor takes to recover is anyone's guess, which is why most growers happily stay with seed.
Myths
Cyclamen must be pet-safe since it is such a common houseplant.
How often a plant turns up in shops tells you nothing about whether a pet can safely chew it. Cyclamen is toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, and the tuber especially can trigger an irregular heartbeat, seizures, and even death if an animal eats enough. Set it well out of reach of pets and children, and you have nothing to worry about.