Cyclamen Care
A Quick Guide To Cyclamen Care
The cyclamen care demanded of you will depend greatly upon a couple of key elements, such as the species you choose and the climatic variances of your region. As an indoor plant this is a hardy and popular genus, usually garnering a height of no more than 8 inches. Cyclamen care requires a pretty straight forward approach, and does not impart special soil mixes or a whole lot of fuss. A regular, moist, and fortified potting soil does this fragrant, flowering plant wonders, and you will not need to fertilize or feed it often. The most important thing that you need to remember about cyclamen care is that it will not tolerate temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit for any amount of time. Using it for landscaping on the northeast coast, for instance, may not be feasible.
The flowers of the cyclamen plant are held high above the beautiful foliage on long stems, and are normally quite fragrant. Colorations can vary anywhere from pure white to deep pink, and they tend to be a long lasting, self pruning type of bloom. The leaves are often marbled with silver, shiny and very inviting in their appearance. Cyclamen care may include misting the leaves with water periodically in order to preserve their natural luster and to keep them dust free. The foliage should lay low to the plant, covering the stalk, and it will cluster out in all directions in a beautiful, thick show. The cyclamen will not reach a great size, but will offer you a lot of character in a compact, colorful package.
If you are planning to start your plant as a tuber, your cyclamen care regiment will be rather easy as well. This plant is not very finicky, aside from its sensitivity to cold, and you can feel pretty secure about starting them on your own. The tuber enjoys a shallow starting depth, doing best when the head is left showing just above the soil line. Water is important, but over watering can cause rot and drowning, so your happy medium will be found when the cyclamen's soil is moist to the touch.
When thinking about cyclamen care on a yearly basis, you will want to remember that your little beauty will need to hibernate for a few months. This is the time when care is critical, and water needs to be slowly taken away. As the flowers begin to fade on your cyclamen plant, it is going dormant, storing up energy in the tuber for a new bloom in three to four months. Too much water will wipe out the tuber, possibly causing rot and failure. During this stage, it is best that you limit the amount of water fed to your cyclamen, offering it half of a usually watering, and only once per week.