Some years ago, I was attracted to a few beautiful cyclamen plants I saw in the nursery. The color of the cyclamen I purchased was the most brilliant pink and they continued to bloom through the Christmas holiday and into spring. When the leaves and flowers started yellowing and dying back I, like many, dug them up from the garden and threw them away. The color all winter and early spring was so beautiful that I decided I had to have a few of my gardens totally filled with cyclamen some day, but this was going to be expensive or take a few more years adding a few new plants each year. Most cyclamen are expensive even in the four inch pots in the nurseries and even more so in the florists. Purchasing good corms on the internet can also be expensive. This may be one reason I see very few gardens used for annual planting filled solid with cyclamen. Most of them are normally purchased for spotted garden color, gifts, and indoor and outdoor pots.

My growing interest in this plant took me to sources on the internet where I found more than expected about this plant. Cyclamen need a resting period during the year as bulbs do and being that they are cool weather plants the warmer months provide this time.

It didn't take long before I realized most people like me a few years ago, discard their cyclamen every year when they become ragged looking as they enter their dormant stage. Even after explaining to some that they can store their plants and replant them in the fall they elect not to do this simple task. It bothers me now to think how many beautiful cyclamen must end up in compost piles every year. I also realized how many family, friends, and neighbors get cyclamen as gifts during the holidays and other occasions throughout the year. Many florists have cyclamen year round. These are the same plants we are purchasing in the nurseries in the fall (Cyclamen persicum - Florist's Cyclamen). Because of this I now ask everyone I see with cyclamen in their yards and homes if I can take them off their hands when they have stopped flowering, leaves start yellowing and become withered. Most are more than willing to let you take their dead looking plants especially if you are willing to clean their now empty pots or clean and rake out their garden after pulling out the now sleepy cyclamen.

I now have family and neighbors that plant cyclamen and enjoy this beautiful flowering plant in their garden and home throughout the cooler months. They now pass on their withering cyclamen to me every year in the spring before planting their gardens and pots for the spring and summer months. They have found it not only a great way to clean their garden of dying winter plants, but to get their gardens raked out and ready for their new warm weather planting. It’s actually very little work to acquire some great new cyclamen corms and many times new colors I hadn’t had.

For very little expense, except for a few bags of planter mix when needed, I am now able to enjoy a huge splash of color throughout my gardens and in pots from fall to spring.

I have now collected over one hundred corms. In the spring I dig up the corms, shake off the soil from the roots, clean off the old leaves and flower stems and store them in paper bags. Don't use plastic bags or containers as they hold moisture which will rot the corm during their dormancy period. Remember to note the plants flower color on the bag so you remember which ones you may want in specific locations, pots, or used as gifts. If your cyclamen are potted remove the old flowers and leaf stems and move your plants to a cool shaded location for the summer months. Hold off watering your plants until you see the first sign of growth starting as fall approaches. When the corms start to sprout new leaves again in late summer or early fall you can start watering them again. Keep them moist but not wet. In late September or early October I replant my stored corms in 4 and 6 inch nursery growing containers I had saved from my spring and summer annual plantings. I keep the plants moist and in shaded areas approximately 5 to 6 weeks or until the weather starts to cool. Many that live in cooler locations can plant their corms in the ground directly each year. Cyclamen like cool locations with plenty of light, but no direct sun light. At this time you can start watering. Again keep your plants moist but not wet. Flowering will be less abundant in to much shade. I plant most of my cyclamen corms in the ground, but many I plant in pots for color around entry ways, patios, and inside our home. I also use them for gifts during the holidays and other winter occasions. When you give a gift of a potted cyclamen you are giving a gift that will bloom longer than most other plants. Not only is the cyclamen color in your garden beautiful to enjoy, but the enjoyment of sharing and giving this plant to others is beyond words. Some family and friends return their fading cyclamen gifts in the spring. This isn’t because they are ungrateful for a gift that died or that they don’t own a composter. They actually look forward to receiving this gift of beautiful color every year for their homes.

So there you have it. Save your cyclamen for garden color each year during the cooler months and have plenty of gifts on hand for family, friends, and neighbors they will enjoy for months.

Particulars on this plant regarding varieties, planting, watering and fertilization can be found easily on plant and gardening sites on the internet. The best known cyclamen is “Cyclamen persicum” which is so widely cultivated as an indoor or gift plant that it is usually known as the "Florist's Cyclamen". Cyclamen persicum will bloom from autumn to spring and can be grown indoors or outdoors in mild climates. What more could you possibly want for beautiful color during your cool weather seasons?