Cyclamen blooms during the winter, adding colour to your home during the cold months. The plants produce attractive variegated leaves with green and white markings, but it's their flowers that make cyclamens stand out. The pink, white or red flowers form atop tall stems that set above the tips of the foliage. The plant continues to bloom from winter into spring if it's deadheaded. Deadheading prevents seed development and encourages the cyclamen to produce new flower buds.
- Cyclamen blooms during the winter, adding colour to your home during the cold months.
- The plant continues to bloom from winter into spring if it's deadheaded.
Inspect the cyclamen for spent flowers daily once the flowers have opened. Only deadhead flowers that have begun to fade and wither.
Grasp the stem of the wilted flower beneath the flower head. Tug sharply on the stem, pulling upward. The stem pulls free of the plant easily if it's ready for deadheading. If the stem remains attached, wait an additional day or two for it to die completely before trying again.
- Grasp the stem of the wilted flower beneath the flower head.
- The stem pulls free of the plant easily if it's ready for deadheading.
Remove yellow foliage with the same tugging method used for flower removal. Foliage that's ready for removal separates easily from the plant.
Pull off the remaining flower stems and leaves once the entire plant yellows and dies back in summer. Store the dormant cyclamen in a cool place with dry soil until fall.
WARNING
Don't cut away flowers or foliage. Wait for them to pull off on their own. Leaving cut stems attached to the bulb provides an entryway for disease organisms to infest the plant.