Beautiful Plants For Your Interior
Caring for Cyclamen – 9 Points For Success
Caring for Cyclamen plants is a fairly straightforward affair. However, how to look after these beautiful plants is one of the most common questions people ask.
Cyclamen plants are not difficult to care for, but they do require some attention and a little effort in order to thrive.
In this post, we will answer some of the most common questions that people have when it comes to caring for a cyclamen plant!
Cyclamen plants generally prefer to be in indirect light. Not too much sun or shade, but enough for the plant to grow. They do not like direct sunlight at all!
Where is The Best Spot to Place Your Cyclamen?
Indoor plants are especially popular during the winter months and depending on variety will bloom from October through to March.
During this time, it is essential to make sure they have a space in your home that isn’t too close to any direct sunlight, away from radiators and sheltered from frosts at night.
Make sure you don’t leave plants on window sills behind curtains when there’s frost outside or else their leaves may become damaged by the cold temperatures! It would be better to pull them into the room overnight.
Hardy Outdoor cultivars bloom from early January through to late March and are perfect for hanging baskets, and container pots and also make great additions to your garden on banks or in a shady border planted in association with other early-flowering woodland plants.
Cyclamen do not like heavy rainfall or strong winds so they enjoy a sheltered site in dappled shade with dryish soil. These beauties can tolerate frost down to about -3°C (24-26F), which makes them fairly hardy!
Do Cyclamen Need Much Water?
Yes and No: they only need water every few weeks or when the soil is dry to the touch, because of their dormant period, which normally starts late April/May through the summer when they don’t require any water.
However, when cyclamen bloom, they need to be watered more frequently (weekly). Cyclamen typically bloom from October through March so this is something that you will want to keep an eye out for during this time period!
Caring for Cyclamen: Watering cyclamen should follow the ‘little and often’ rule when flowers are in bloom.
Should I Fertilise my Cyclamen Plant?
No, unless your soil is not very fertile and has low levels of nitrogen (which may be indicated by yellowing or drooping leaves) in which case you can use a fertiliser.
However, do not over-fertilise your plants to avoid them being more susceptible to disease. Instead, use a slow-release low-nitrogen fertiliser or houseplant food for blooming plants every two weeks when in active growth if you want lush green leaves with vibrant flowers!
Do Cyclamen Need to be Re-potted?
Cyclamen plants do not typically require being re-potted, so this does not happen very often–unless they are extremely neglected or overgrown! If your plant is too big for its pot, you can re-pot it into a bigger pot.
If you’re caring for Cyclamen correctly, you should do this about once every two/three years or if the soil has become compacted and is not draining properly; which will need of course to be addressed before repotting your plant!
How do I Keep my Cyclamen Blooming?
This is a difficult question to answer because there are so many factors that come into play (pot size, soil type, water amount) but in general, to keep them in bloom as long as possible, you want to make sure the plant does not dry out, you deadhead regularly, and cool nighttime temperatures prevail.
If this can be maintained the plant will continue to grow with new blooms if you maintain its care. Just keep up the normal care of cyclamen and it’ll continue to grow, sending more flowers your way!
Do Cyclamen Require Any Other Care?
Cyclamen are low-maintenance plants that typically only need water and sunlight, but they do need a ‘dormant period’ of time where they don’t require much water or care.
Cyclamens typically show signs of being finished in late April or early May when they go dormant for the summer. Exactly, when they will do this, is determined to some extent by their growing conditions. Too much heat and sun can encourage an earlier dormancy when their leaves will go yellow
Best at this point, to let the ‘corms’ dry out before re-potting/planting them in September, leaving the top third of the corm above the soil line for watering. You may also start slow feeding when the first leaves appear and the cycle starts all over again.
Common Pests That Attack Cyclamen
There are a few pests and disease-related problems associated with Cyclamen either indoors, in the greenhouse or in hardy varieties. Some of the common problems are listed below.
Cyclamen Mite:
These small pests are minuscule mites of the family Tarsonemidae. Cyclamen Mites have a number of species that generally go by “cyclamen mite.” They’re possibly one of the Cyclamen’s worst pests, known to cause leaves on plants to go dark green (in severe cases), deform, wither and die as they feed.
Flower infestation makes the plant’s stalk look deformed, and it produces wizened buds that never fully develop. The blooms do not last long because petals fall prematurely.
Control:
In order to get rid of cyclamen mites, immerse the plant and pot in water heated at 43°C for 15 minutes. If chemical control is desired spray or dip the plants thoroughly with a miticide.
Vine Weevil:
The Vine Weevil is a gardener’s worst nightmare! This deadly beetle feeds on nearly all plants and will infest indoor and outdoor gardens alike. It can be especially damaging to plants in a container like the Cyclamen.
Adult weevils are approximately 5/16in (9mm) long and dull black with dirty yellow marks on the wing cases. They cause irregular-shaped notches of leaf margins during the summer.
The c-shaped white legless grubs have light brown heads and are up to about 3/8in (10mm) long. They are likely to be found among the roots, particularly of plants in containers as advised above.
The vine weevil is an invasive insect that can quickly build up in numbers. Gardeners should stay vigilant because the reappearance of this pest after it’s gone for a while will catch them by surprise.
Caring For Cyclamen: Vine Weevil Can Be Deadly to Your Cyclamen Plants
Control:
There are a few methods for control of vine weevil. Both natural and biological.
If you suspect you have Vine Weevil, one natural way you get rid of them without any chemicals or pesticides is by ‘torchlight’. Yes, torchlight it is your friend!
At night when it’s cooler outside (ideal for insects!), inspect all around by torchlight, you will be able to pick off adult weevil bugs with ease.
Shake up pot plants near an upturned umbrella or similar – this will help dislodge more weevils hidden beneath the leaves as well as shake out anything else lurking on its underside. Also, remove as many larvae as possible from compost infested with grubs.
Another natural way is to encourage wildlife into the garden, vine weevils and their grubs are tasty treats for a variety of predators such as birds, frogs, toads, shrews, hedgehogs and predatory ground beetles. Vine weevil larvae that are plentiful in the garden are an easy meal for any bird or mammal looking to eat!
If you want to use pesticides then plants can be treated with a systemic neonicotinoid insecticide to protect against various pests that would otherwise destroy them. Acetamiprid (e.g., Bug Clear Ultra or Vine Weevil Killer) are such products for treating ornamental plants grown in pots; this treatment will last up to four months after application on the compost of these kinds of flowers.
Note: These particular chemicals cannot be used to treat edible goods like fruits and veggies.
Cyclamen Fungal Diseases
Cyclamen Grey Mould:
This fuzzy grey mould is called Botrytis cinerea, and it can be lethal to your Cyclamen plants. It attacks the stalks of developing leaves and flowers causing them to collapse.
Cyclamen are particularly susceptible to this disease which causes a ‘grey fuzz’ on infected plant parts, that also have an unpleasant scent from its spores.
Solution:
As there are no chemical controls available to gardeners for use against grey mould, that can wholly remove this disease. Non-chemical control is the only realistic solution open to gardeners to combat this disease.
Maintain good hygiene and do not allow dead plant material to accumulate either on plants or as waste. Remove dead leaves, flowers, and other organic matter promptly and destroy it.
Maintaining proper air circulation is also important for preventing diseases such as mould growth. Do not overcrowd plants since this could lead to an accumulation of humidity which would make a perfect breeding ground for mould.
Leaf Spot:
Fungal leaf spot is a common and unwelcome fungus in your outdoor or potted plants. The brown fungal spots on the leaves usually appear when spores from the air cling to wet, warm plant surfaces.
As soon as they find their new home, ‘sporulation’ will occur and more of these tiny fungi will grow all over your plants.
Solution:
When a plant’s leaves start to spot brownish-purple dots, it is time to take action. For houseplants, this means isolating the pot immediately and removing any leaf that has been affected by fungus spores from spreading. In addition stop ‘misting’ your plants so as not to spread these small but deadly fungi!
Fungal leaf spots on your houseplants can be difficult to avoid. It’s important that you water the soil and not the leaves, which will prevent overwatering. You also want to make sure there is enough space between pots for good air circulation.
If you’re looking for an organic treatment, sulfur and copper octanoate are both safe to use as well as Neem oil.
For a more traditional method of spraying try a baking soda solution, mix ½ teaspoon per gallon (2.5 mL per 4 L.) of water in your sprayer before applying it on the affected plant areas.
If you want to use a chemical fungicide, be sure to read labels carefully when using all-purpose fungicides because many can only be used once every 5 days at most due to their toxicity!
Caring For Cyclamen: A Homemade Fungicide Works Well on Many Plant Diseases
FAQ’s
What Temperature is Best for Cyclamen?
Cyclamen prefer cool temperatures between 50-60°F (10-15°C).
How Do You Revive a Dying Cyclamen?
Remove dead flowers and leaves, water less frequently, and move the plant to a cooler location with bright, indirect light.
How do You Propagate Cyclamen?
Propagate cyclamen by dividing the tuber and planting the smaller sections in fresh soil.
Conclusion
I hope that these’ Caring for Cyclamen‘ tips have helped you and given you some ideas on how to care for your Cyclamen plants. If this is not the case, please feel free to ask more questions by contacting us on our main website! We will only be very pleased to assist you.
If this article has helped you in any way then please share it amongst your family and garden-loving friends.
Finally, you can always pop over to our FAQ page to find out more about Cyclamen and a whole host of answers to other gardening questions and queries.