Identity & taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Cyclamen persicum Mill.
- Family
- Primulaceae
- Genus
- Cyclamen
- Order
- Ericales
- IUCN status
- Least Concern (LC)
- Wikidata
- Q121211
- Cyclamen aleppicum Fisch. ex Hoffmanns.
- Cyclamen latifolium Sm.
- Florist's cyclamenen
- Persian cyclamenen
- Sowbreaden
- Alpklocka / cyklamensv
- Alpefiolno
- Alpeviolda
- Syyssyklaami / alppiorvokkifi
- Persisches Alpenveilchen / Zimmer-Alpenveilchende
Eastern Mediterranean: Greece (Aegean islands) · Cyprus · Turkey (southern Anatolia) · Lebanon · Israel · Tunisia
How to identify it
Growth habit. Tuberous perennial. Above ground: a low rosette of long-stemmed heart-shaped leaves emerging from the centre of a flattened tuber that sits half-buried in the mix. Flowers on long upright stems rise above the leaves. The whole visible plant grows from the tuber, which can live and re-flower for 10–25 years if treated correctly. The plant is dormant in summer — leaves yellow and die back, the tuber rests, and growth resumes in autumn.
Leaves. Heart-shaped (cordate) leaves 5–12 cm long on long succulent petioles, dark green with silver, grey, or whitish marbling that varies between cultivars. The marbling is often the main ornamental feature when the plant is not flowering. Leaves emerge in autumn and die back in late spring.
Flowers. The signature feature. Flowers rise on long upright pink stems above the leaves; each flower has 5 petals that reflex sharply backward and upward, like a shooting star or a small upside-down butterfly. Colours range across white, pink, salmon, red, magenta, and bicolours depending on cultivar. Wild-form flowers are pale pink with a dark mouth and faintly fragrant. Each flower lasts 1–2 weeks; a healthy plant produces flowers continuously from October to April.
Fruit. After flowering, the fertilised flower stem coils tightly into a spiral, drawing the developing seed capsule down to soil level — a unique seed-dispersal mechanism. The capsule splits to release sticky seeds collected by ants. Indoor specimens rarely set seed without hand-pollination.
- Petals reflexed sharply backward — the 'shooting star' silhouette is diagnostic for Cyclamen.
- Heart-shaped leaves with silver-marbled patterning on long petioles.
- Flowers and leaves both rise from a flattened tuber half-buried in the mix.
- Coiled flower stem after pollination — pulls the seed capsule down to soil level.
- Summer-dormant: leaves yellow and die back; the tuber rests June–August.
Commonly confused with
Ivy-leaved cyclamen / hardy cyclamen
A hardy outdoor species often confused with the houseplant. Smaller flowers, leaves more ivy-shaped (lobed) rather than heart-shaped, blooms in autumn outdoors. Frost-hardy; persicum is not. Often misidentified at garden centres.
Eastern cyclamen
Smaller, hardy outdoor species with rounder leaves and stubbier petals that reflex less sharply. Blooms in late winter outdoors. Frost-hardy.
Shooting star
American wildflower with the same swept-back petal shape but in upright clusters on tall stems with no marbled leaves. Different genus, similar silhouette only.
Care
Light
Bright indirect; cool and bright is the goal.
An east or north-facing windowsill in a cool room is ideal. Bright indirect light through a sheer curtain works in any aspect. Hot direct sun shortens flower life and triggers premature dormancy. The combination of bright + cool is critical — bright + warm pushes the plant into dormancy weeks early.
Seasonal: Nordic apartments above ~55°N: a cool bright windowsill is usually adequate from October through April. The natural short Nordic winter day length aligns well with the species' bloom cycle.
Water
Bottom-water only — never wet the crown of the tuber.
The single most important rule for cyclamen care. Water from below: place the pot in a saucer of room-temperature water for 15–20 minutes, allowing the mix to wick water up through the drainage holes, then drain the saucer and return the pot. Never pour water onto the crown of the tuber — water that sits on the tuber crown causes rapid rot and is the #1 killer of indoor cyclamen. Water when the top 1–2 cm of mix feels dry; in active growth this is typically every 5–10 days.
Seasonal: Summer dormancy (June–August): stop watering almost entirely. The leaves will yellow and die back; the tuber rests dry. Resume watering in late August or early September when new shoots emerge from the tuber.
Soil
Free-draining, slightly chalky mix.
A mix of 2 parts peat-free potting soil, 1 part fine perlite, and a small handful of horticultural grit or limestone chippings. Cyclamen prefers slightly alkaline soil — adding a teaspoon of crushed eggshell or lime per 10 cm pot encourages strong flowering. The tuber should sit half-buried with its top exposed; burying the tuber fully causes crown rot.
Humidity
40–60 %; tolerates standard indoor air.
Cyclamen tolerates ordinary indoor humidity well. The species evolved in dry Mediterranean winters and prefers it cool and dry rather than warm and humid. Do not mist — water on the leaves and crown causes spotting and rot.
Temperature
13–18 °C ideal; above 21 °C triggers dormancy.
Cool is non-negotiable for sustained flowering. Above 21 °C the plant interprets warmth as approaching summer and starts the dormancy cycle — leaves yellow, flowers stop forming. Below 5 °C the leaves get damaged but the tuber survives. The classic display: cool bright window in an unheated bedroom, hallway, or conservatory. Heated living rooms above 21 °C are the wrong place for a cyclamen.
Fertilizer
Half-strength balanced or low-nitrogen feed every 2–4 weeks during growth.
Feed at half strength every 2–4 weeks from October through May. A low-nitrogen, higher-potassium 'tomato' or 'flowering plant' feed encourages bloom over leafy growth. Stop entirely during summer dormancy (June–August). Over-fertilising produces lush leaves at the expense of flowers.
Pruning
Remove yellowed leaves and spent flowers by twisting them off at the base.
Twist (don't cut) yellowed leaves and finished flower stems off at the base, with a quick rotating tug. The dead stem should release cleanly with a small click; it pulls a tiny piece of the tuber away with it, which signals the tuber to stop allocating energy to that stem. Cutting leaves at the surface leaves a wet stub that rots into the crown. Removing spent flowers extends the bloom season.
Repotting
Every 2 years in early autumn, after dormancy.
Repot in late August or early September when new growth begins after the summer rest. Lift the tuber, brush off old mix, and replant in fresh free-draining mix in a pot only slightly larger than the tuber — overpotting reduces flowering. Plant the tuber half-buried, with the top exposed (this is critical for crown health). A clay pot in a saucer works best because it dries faster than plastic.
Seed
moderate~4–6 weeks germination; 12–18 months to flowerThe only effective home propagation method. Sow fresh seed (older seed loses viability quickly) in late summer onto damp peat-perlite mix. Cover with 1 cm of mix and keep cool and dark at 13–15 °C — cyclamen seed needs darkness to germinate. Seedlings emerge in 4–6 weeks. Pot on at the 2-leaf stage; first flowers in 12–18 months.
Tuber division
difficult~Variable; high failure ratePossible but unreliable. Cut a mature tuber in half so each half has at least one growing point and dust the cut surfaces with fungicide; pot up separately. Most divisions rot before establishing. Commercial growers use seed exclusively.
Cultivars
Halios® series
The dominant commercial series in Europe (Morel Diffusion, France). Large flowers in 30+ colours, vigorous growth, and reliable repeat bloom. Most supermarket cyclamen sold in Europe in winter are Halios.
Latinia® series
Compact form with smaller flowers — ideal for windowsills and small pots. Slightly more shade-tolerant than the Halios series.
Victoria series
Known for distinctive bicolor flowers with frilled or picotee edges. Slightly less vigorous; collector's choice.
'Silver Leaf'
Cultivar selected for strikingly silver-marbled foliage, often more conspicuous than the flowers themselves. Worth keeping for the leaves alone.
Common problems
Tuber turning soft or black at the crown
Symptom
Centre of the plant darkens, leaves yellow and collapse, tuber goes soft.
Cause
Crown rot — water sat on the tuber crown.
Fix
Often fatal once it reaches the centre. Switch immediately to bottom-watering only. If only the outer crown is affected, scrape off the rotted tissue with a clean knife, dust with cinnamon or fungicide, and let the tuber air-dry for 24 hours before replanting in fresh dry mix. Most plants do not survive once the central growing point is rotted.
All leaves yellow at once in spring or summer
Symptom
Healthy plant suddenly has all leaves yellow simultaneously, often in May or June.
Cause
Natural summer dormancy — the plant is going to rest, not dying.
Fix
Stop watering, move to a cool dry shaded spot (a cellar, garage, or shaded windowsill at 13–18 °C is ideal), and leave the tuber alone for 8–12 weeks. In late August or early September, repot in fresh mix, resume watering, and new growth should emerge within 4–6 weeks. The plant will re-bloom from October onward.
Floppy leaves and limp flower stems
Symptom
Leaves and stems hang lifelessly; plant looks wilted.
Cause
Either underwatering or — paradoxically — overwatering causing root damage. Or temperatures above 21 °C.
Fix
Check the soil: if dry, bottom-water for 20 minutes and the plant should perk up within hours. If wet, suspect crown rot or root rot; let the mix dry, switch to cooler conditions (below 18 °C), and inspect the tuber for soft spots. Move out of any heated room.
Distorted, twisted, or stunted new leaves
Symptom
New leaves emerge crinkled, twisted, or with edges curled inward; flower buds distorted.
Cause
Cyclamen mites — microscopic pest specific to cyclamen and African violets.
Fix
Cyclamen mites are difficult to control without specialist miticide. Discard heavily infested plants and isolate any nearby cyclamen or African violets. Hot-water dipping (110 °F / 43 °C for 15 minutes) kills mites without harming the tuber but is fiddly. Most home growers find it cheaper to dispose and start over.
Plant stops flowering after a few weeks
Symptom
Supermarket cyclamen flowers heavily for a month, then stops despite remaining green.
Cause
Almost always too warm — placed in a heated living room at 21 °C+, the plant interprets the warmth as summer approaching and stops bloom.
Fix
Move to a cool bright spot below 18 °C — an unheated bedroom, a north-facing windowsill, a cool conservatory, a glassed-in porch. Within 2–4 weeks new flower stems should resume. The biggest behaviour change for indoor cyclamen owners is accepting that the plant belongs in a cool room, not the warm living room.
- Cyclamen mites (microscopic; cause distorted leaves and stunted flowers)
- Aphids on flower buds
- Vine weevil on the tuber
- Crown rot from water on the tuber
- Botrytis (grey mould) on flowers in cool damp conditions
- Fusarium wilt on infected stock
Toxicity & safety
Triterpenoid saponins (primarily cyclamin) cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhoea if ingested in quantity. Rare cardiac effects in massive ingestions. The bitter taste of all parts means accidental human ingestion is very rare. The tuber holds the highest saponin concentration.
Mechanism: Triterpenoid saponins (cyclamin) — disrupt cell membranes and cause GI irritation.
Cyclamen persicum — North Carolina State Extension Toxic PlantsDrooling, vomiting, and diarrhoea after ingestion. Larger ingestions (especially of the tuber) can cause heart-rhythm abnormalities, seizures, and death. The tuber is the most dangerous part. Contact a veterinarian immediately if a cat eats any part of a cyclamen, especially the tuber.
Mechanism: Triterpenoid saponins (cyclamin).
ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants — CyclamenVomiting, diarrhoea, drooling, and abdominal pain after ingestion. Larger ingestions (especially of the tuber, which dogs may dig up) can cause heart-rhythm abnormalities, seizures, and death. Contact a veterinarian immediately. Dogs are at higher risk than cats because they will dig and chew the tuber.
Mechanism: Triterpenoid saponins (cyclamin).
ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants — CyclamenWhy your supermarket cyclamen 'died' — and how to bring it back into bloom next winter
The single most common cyclamen experience: a beautiful flowering plant from a supermarket, three months of bloom, then in April or May the leaves yellow and the plant looks dead. Most owners throw it out. Almost all of those plants were not dead — they were entering the natural summer dormancy that is the species' defining lifecycle quirk.
Cyclamen persicum is a Mediterranean plant that grows during the cool wet winter and rests through the hot dry summer. The yellowing leaves in late spring are the dormancy signal. The tuber under the soil is alive and resting — and if treated correctly, will resprout in autumn and bloom every year for 10–25 years. The treatment is to stop watering when leaves yellow, move the pot to a cool dry shaded spot at 13–18 °C, and leave it alone for 8–12 weeks. In late August or early September repot in fresh free-draining mix, plant the tuber half-buried with the top exposed, resume watering from below, and new growth emerges within 4–6 weeks. By October the plant is back in bloom. The reflowered tuber is generally larger and more vigorous than its first season.
The bottom-watering rule — why every cyclamen care guide insists on it
Cyclamen owners are told repeatedly to water from below. The reason is specific to the species' anatomy: the tuber sits half-buried in the mix, with its top crown exposed. Water poured onto the top of the soil inevitably runs down onto the crown and pools against the growing point. Cyclamen crown tissue is highly susceptible to fungal rot, especially Fusarium and Botrytis. Once the crown rots, the whole plant collapses within days and is rarely savable.
The bottom-watering technique solves this entirely: place the pot in a saucer of room-temperature water for 15–20 minutes, let the mix wick water up through the drainage holes, then drain the saucer and return the pot to its windowsill. The tuber crown stays dry; the roots get fully watered. Standard indoor watering rules — top-watering, misting, sitting in water indefinitely — all kill cyclamen. The single behaviour change of bottom-watering is the difference between a plant that lives 6 weeks and one that lives 20 years.
After pollination, the flower stem of Cyclamen persicum coils tightly into a tight spiral, drawing the developing seed capsule down to soil level — a unique adaptation that delivers seeds directly to the ant nests around the parent plant. The seeds are coated in a sugary substance (elaiosome) that ants harvest and carry back to their nests, eating the elaiosome and discarding the seed in nutrient-rich nest debris where it germinates. This dispersal strategy — myrmecochory — is rare in temperate plants but common in Cyclamen and a few related Mediterranean genera.
Frequently asked · 5
Is cyclamen safe for cats and dogs?+
No — Cyclamen persicum is toxic to cats and dogs. All parts contain triterpenoid saponins (primarily cyclamin), with the highest concentration in the tuber. Ingestion causes drooling, vomiting, and diarrhoea; large ingestions of the tuber can cause heart-rhythm abnormalities, seizures, and death. Dogs are particularly at risk because they may dig up and chew the tuber. Contact a veterinarian immediately if a pet eats any part of the plant.
Why did my cyclamen die in spring?+
Almost certainly it didn't die — it entered natural summer dormancy. Cyclamen persicum is a Mediterranean plant that rests through summer. Yellowing leaves in April–May are the dormancy signal, not death. Stop watering, move the pot to a cool shaded spot at 13–18 °C, and leave it alone for 8–12 weeks. In late August repot, resume watering, and the plant will re-bloom from October. Healthy tubers live and re-flower for 10–25 years.
How do I water a cyclamen?+
From below only. Place the pot in a saucer of room-temperature water for 15–20 minutes, let the mix wick water up through the drainage holes, then drain the saucer. Never pour water on the top of the soil — it runs onto the tuber crown and causes rot, which is the #1 killer of indoor cyclamen. Bottom-water when the top 1–2 cm of mix feels dry, typically every 5–10 days during growth.
Why has my cyclamen stopped flowering?+
Almost always because the room is too warm. Cyclamen needs cool conditions (13–18 °C) to keep flowering — above 21 °C the plant interprets the warmth as summer approaching and stops blooming. Move to a cool bright spot like an unheated bedroom, north-facing windowsill, glassed-in porch, or cool conservatory. New flower stems should resume within 2–4 weeks. The species belongs in a cool room, not a heated living room.
How long does a cyclamen live?+
10–25 years if cared for correctly through repeated dormancy cycles. The visible plant dies back every summer, but the underground tuber survives and grows larger each year. A tuber that started at 2 cm wide on its first season can reach 15–20 cm wide and produce dozens of flowers per season after a decade. Most supermarket cyclamen are discarded after one winter because owners do not know about the dormancy cycle.