I am planning to buy a flowering plant for a birthday present for a friend and would like a suggestion of one to buy.
— Jessica Gonzalez, Highwood
Cyclamen would be a good choice and can provide an easy eight weeks of winter color when given proper care. Success in growing cyclamen starts with the correct environment. It will perform best when kept in a north window with bright, indirect light in a cool room of 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. These cool temperatures are not typically possible to maintain in most homes, though. If the temperature of your home is over 70 degrees during the day and over 65 degrees at night, your cyclamen may start to yellow and the flowers will more rapidly fade, but this is not necessarily a reason to avoid purchasing this plant for a few weeks of color.
Cyclamen that are sold as houseplants are Mediterranean and cannot tolerate temperatures below 40 degrees, so be sure to protect them when transporting the plants home. Do not leave the plant in a cold car while running errands. In nature, these cyclamens grow in cool, humid environments. There are also hardy cyclamens that can be grown outside in your garden.
Cyclamen are sensitive to both over and under-watering. Start with a potting medium with excellent drainage and a container with a hole or holes in the bottom for the water to drain out of the pot. Water your cyclamen plant only when the soil is dry to the touch, but do not wait so long that it shows visible signs of being too dry, such as wilting leaves and flowers. Water enough to keep the plants evenly moist and never soggy. Try to avoid splashing the crown of the plant or the foliage when watering as this can promote disease. Be sure that when you water the plant, you thoroughly soak the growing medium and let any excess water drain away.
Remove fading flowers and their stems and yellowing leaves, as needed. Fertilize once every one to two months, with water-soluble fertilizer mixed at half strength. When cyclamen get too much fertilizer, it can affect their ability to bloom again.
Most gardeners find it too difficult to force the plant to bloom again the following season and end up buying a new plant. After a cyclamen blooms, it will go into a dormant state, with the leaves turning yellow and falling off. Stop watering the plant once you see the signs that the leaves are all dying back. Place the plant in a cool, somewhat dark place. Remove dead foliage and let the plant sit for a couple of months.
Another option is to remove soil from the tuber and store it in peat moss or vermiculite in a dark, cool (50 degrees) location for its dormant period. Later in spring or early summer, check the tuber for new growth. As soon as growth begins, repot the tuber with its top half exposed and bottom half planted in fresh growing medium. Resume normal watering and fertilize with a dilute 10-10-10 or 15-15-15 mix twice a month.
Cyclamen can benefit from summers growing outside in a protected spot in the garden where it receives early morning sun. Bring the plant indoors as night temperatures approach 40 degrees.
For more plant advice, contact the Plant Information Service at the Chicago Botanic Garden at plantinfo@chicagobotanic.org. Tim Johnson is senior director of horticulture at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
