February Plant of the Month – Cyclamen
PLANT OF THE MONTH
Cyclamen
“The Bouquet That Blooms Year After Year”
February is a tough month for the plant lovers. Christmas with its trees, greens and holly is over. Spring is not here yet. That leaves just the indoor potted plants. Fear not! Many houseplants are very unusual and can be very pretty. One of my favorites this time of year is the cyclamen. Cyclamen are great this time of year. They love the cooler weather. Actually they don’t like the temperature to be over 70 degrees. The cooler the better. In winter many people have to move plants out of cold windows. Not cyclamen, they love the cold spot.
The real benefit of cyclamen is color. The foliage is a beautiful green and silver. The blooms are gorgeous pinks, reds and whites. Think Valentines Day! They are held above the foliage with the blooms upside-down. They bloom profusely until the temperatures get too high or the days get very long.
The care of cyclamen is a little different than other plants, but still pretty easy. As I mentioned earlier they enjoy cooler temperatures. So keep them away from the heating ducts. They grow from a corm (a tuberous bulb-like structure). Therefore, we do not want to keep the soil surface too wet as the corm can rot. Water them thoroughly, then wait until the soil dries before watering again. it’s OK to let the foliage droop a little before water, but don’t let them get so dry they really wilt. Stutzmans all-purpose fertilizer can be used at 1/2 strength every 3rd or 4th watering. Dead heading, or removing spent blooms is important to keep them producing new flowers. After the flower fades the spent stalk begins to curl up. A sharp tug is all that’s needed to remove the old stalk. By following these suggestions your cyclamen can provide beautiful color for a very long time. Think of it as a Valentine’s Day bouquet that lasts weeks longer than any cut flower will.
Please contact me with any cyclamen questions or any other garden questions at retail@stutzmans.com.