Carry on Cyclamen

  • Post published:01/11/2011
  • Post comments:3 Comments
My Cyclamen

As you can see from the photo I am not skilled at carrying over a cyclamen. I buy one or two in November or early December, and they look great right through and past Valentine’s Day. But once they lose all their blossoms and start to wilt all over I never know quite what to do.  Today I got my e-leaflet from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and saw the clearest directions for handling cyclamen after bloom that I have ever seen.  Here it is:

“By April, their energy is spent (but by then, the first spring bulbs are up) and we consign our dozen or so cyclamen to the basement for six weeks of rest. Then, in mid-May, we un-pot them and plant them in out-of-the-way, shady spots in the garden. There, the bulbs (technically speaking, corms) gather strength and produce a few leaves. Before the first frost, we gently dig them up, re-pot them with a loose potting mix, and find them a window with good, filtered light. By the time Thanksgiving has passed, they’re back in flower. In case you think this migration is hard on the plants, we have one cyclamen that has made the pot-to-earth transition for considerably longer than a decade and is going strong.”

I am ready to try again.

This Post Has 3 Comments

  1. janice

    Thank you for this. I just love cyclamens!

  2. Tinky

    I’ve killed every one I ever had. Next time, I’ll know better what to do. Thank you!

  3. Pat

    Thank you MHS for this good advice!

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